Wedding Planner Blues
by The Optimistic Scholar
Summary: No. 7 in Triple Threat-Kim is in full wedding planner mode and headed to Wellington NZ with Gracie in tow to scout wedding locations. Global Justice has a new R&D project in the area and Gracie is oh so excited to get a peak at it. But will she be the only one peeking?
1. Chapter 1

_By yon Bonnie Banks _

_By yon Bonnie Brea_

_Where the sun shines Bright_

_On Loch Lomon_

_For me and my true love_

_Will never meet again_

_On the Bonnie Bonnie Banks_

_Of Loch Lomon_

Billy broke into a guitar solo as Gracie began circling, planting a kiss on her boyfriend's cheek. Mary was making her fiddle truly sing while Jimmy looked downright high while hammering on his drum set. This was by far becoming their group's best song and Gracie especially loved it, especially the twangy flavor that Billy brought to it. The lyrics could be a little depressing when you thought about it but Gracie wanted The Gang from Galway's rendition to be as peppy and upbeat as humanly possible for their performance. She still couldn't believe it! She'd been thrilled when Mom and Momma had informed the family that Momma had asked Mom to remarry her. The ring had been…did Momma really find something like that in a French Canadian antique shop? But as excited for her parents as Gracie had been, it all paled in comparison to her parents' request that The Gang perform most of the music for the ceremony. They had said that could be Gracie's wedding present to them. A present for THEM? This was practically the best gift they could've given HER! And Gracie was determined to give her mothers a phenomenal show!

_By the Bonnie Bonnie Banks_

_By the Bonnie Bonnie Banks_

_Those Beautiful Banks_

_Of Loch Loman!_

"THANK YOU WELLINGTON!" Jimmy shouted as he leapt up from his stool.

"I think we've got just enough personal flavor," Gracie smiled at her longtime friend's antics. "But I am feeling REALLY parched." Popping over to the small fridge Momma kept in the garage, she snagged a bottled water. "Anybody else thirsty?" Mary whistled and caught the thrown bottle just as she'd set her violin down. Their circumstances still constantly made the four laugh. They probably had to be literally the only garage band in America that played _Dulaman_ instead of _Dirty Deeds_. Downing the bottle of water in several gulps, Gracie returned to her position. "How about we get one more run through of _Seasons of Love _before we call it quits?" The one caveat Mom and Momma had put in place was that the group learn her parents' favorite song, _Seasons of Love_ from the Broadway play _Rent_. It wasn't exactly in their repertoire but Gracie spied on them dancing to it when she was little and had walked in on them dancing to it on several occasions in recent years and was all too willing to agree to it. The four of them wouldn't be able to handle playing it but Gracie had gotten ahold of a great karaoke version of it that they could play on the sound system.

"Man, I'm beginning to hear that song in my sleep," Jimmy muttered, wiping the sweat from his brow. He'd been as excited as any of them at the prospect of an actual gig and not just a song here and there. But one of his best friends of going on ten years was starting to develop a SERIOUS tyrant complex. The Mrs. Possible as he called them were totally cool, especially Gracie's Momma. As the son of a master mechanic, Jimmy got along well with anyone who understood the beauty of a six cylinder V8 engine. And both of Gracie's Moms had been like a second set of parents to Jimmy and Mary since kindergarten. Billy…the poor schmuck had to be the one to be crazy about Gracie and ask out the only girl in school whose Momma could literally MELT said six cylinder V8 engine into a steaming pile of goo. So all four of the bandmates wanted to give a good performance…but Jimmy wasn't sure how much more of this he could take.

The band had taken their starting positions when Jimmy and the rest were saved by the bell…or rather the car horn to be more precise. Billy's dad and Mary's mom pulled up ready to escort the trio back home. Though it might take Gracie several tries if her record remained the same, she couldn't wait until all four of them got their licenses next year. As the cars pulled away, Gracie's ears picked up Momma's call to dinner. Making a mad dash through the new fallen December snow, Gracie burst through the kitchen door and shook the snowflakes out of her long red hair.

"Young lady, you're going to catch your death of cold," Momma scolded, warming up her arms and pulling Gracie into a hug. "There now; toasty warm."

The fourteen year old rolled her eyes and thanked Momma for the warm up. Gracie's ears perked up just in time to hear Mom wrap up another phone tirade on the wedding planner front. Needing to decide on a country that recognized their lifestyle, Mom and Momma had settled on Wellington New Zealand as the location for the ceremony and reception, likely in mid-July so Abby would've given birth and could act as one of the bride's maids. However, the logistics of planning such an affair as Mom had in mind, let alone transporting all of the guests proved to be an unending migraine. Team Possible held a laundry list of favors but no one any member of Team Possible had ever helped could seem to handle something like this.

"AND SAME TO YOU," Mom screeched, a white-knuckle grip on the phone and looking like steam was about to pour out her ears. "YOU TWO BIT EXCUSE FOR A CHARLATON!" Mom hammered the "end" button and throwing the phone against the couch.

Mom had now pretty much become the center of attention, forcing the family to oh so delicately take their seats, trying to ignore the elephant in the room. Gracie planted herself next to Aunt Betty Director, staying for dinner to discuss some Global Justice stuff with Mom and Momma. Everyone joined hands for a prayer and then dug into the delicious meal of Momma's homemade chicken nuggets. A chorus of laughter sounded from Gracie and the twins as Nicky tore with gusto into the food Mom offered but inevitably wound up wearing for the sauce than he actually consumed. Aunt Betty inquired about how each of the girls was doing in school, and gradually the conversation began to shift to Kim's little disagreement with the Pan AM official.

"So Kim," She questioned. "About your little logistical problems?"

Each of the girls and even Momma herself had to suppress a chortle of laughter as Mom caught a sauce soaked piece of chicken to the forehead. "Nicholas Possible so help me, I'm THIS close to cutting you off from honey mustard for the rest of your life!" Taking a deep breath, she remembered that Betty had asked her a question. "Uh…yes; what about them?"

"Well as a wedding present, Global Justice would be more than happy to handle the transportation of all the wedding guests."

The room became deathly silent. The twins' forks hovered over their plates. Gracie' eyes darted from her mother to Aunt Betty afraid to blink for fear she might miss something important. Ever so slowly, Gracie could spot a tear roll down her Mom's cheek and she darted over to Aunt Betty, pulling her old friend into a hug.

"Thank you," Mom sobbed with joy. "THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!"

"Ha…just let me know the date and I'll make all the arrangements."

"You…you…have…no…" Mom gasped, looking like she was about to start weeping in joy.

"Believe me, it's my pleasure," Aunt Betty replied, reaching over and hugging her good friend of almost twenty years. Gracie's childhood had been peppered with bedtime stories of Mom and Momma's exploits but Aunt Betty had worked for Global Justice nearly all her life and a bedtime story by her had always been a special treat. "It's actually interesting that you chose New Zealand for the ceremony. Our Auckland R&amp;D station is working on some new tech down there."

"Oooooh…is it a new type of fighter?" Gracie gasped, nearly choking on her mouthful of chicken, eyes now riveted on her aunt.

"Young lady," Momma barked at her eldest daughter. "Remember you table manners. Your mother and I didn't raise monkeys."

"Sorry Momma," Gracie replied, trying her best to look downcast. Turning back to her aunt, the event was soon forgotten and Gracie's original inquiries were remembered.

_Teenagers_, Shego thought to herself, rolling her eyes. _A weasel has a longer attention span…and eats less to boot_. Although…when you thought about it, Shego and Kim should probably count themselves lucky. Everywhere they went, Kim and Shego received compliments about how truly well behaved their children were. Gracie's teenage hormones may cause her to make a few small slip-ups but Shego knew that they could always trust their oldest daughter to do the right thing and make them proud.

Betty savored the look of anticipation on her surrogate niece's face. Gracie was so much like Betty at that age that it was scary. Every time the aspiring young agent would get wind of new tech from Aunt Betty, the fourteen year old wouldn't let it go. Frankly, Betty knew without a second thought that if there was one place she could trust even the most classified information, it would be here at the Palace. Kim and Shego were consistently the best freelance agents Betty had at her disposal. She owed both of the her life on more than one occasion; and "little Gracie Possible" as Betty couldn't help but think of the teenager before her? Betty couldn't think of a young agent who could keep technological secrets better, ESPECIALLY when it came to aircraft. If it flied, Gracie wanted to know absolutely everything about it.

"Well, it's not an aircraft per say," Betty taunted, savoring the look of extreme anticipation on the fourteen year old girl's face. Whether an aunt by blood or not, Betty couldn't resist the urge to tease her niece on occasion. "Okay, check this out," She drew a pen from her pocket and began sketching on a nearby napkin. "What they're working on is a mechanized battle suit, kind of the same as what you see in a lot of Japanese cartoons." Gracie's eyes got wider and wider as the drawing became more and more complete. "There's a variety of models in the works, each for a different form of combat, each with its own strengths."

"This…is…so…totally…SPANKIN," Gracie gasped in utter awe of what she was seeing before her.

Shego let out a whistle as she took the offered sketch. "Spiffy piece of tech. I wouldn't mind getting my hands on her controls."

"You and about every other pilot we have," Betty smiled. If only Shego knew. Though she was thoroughly too humble to ever claim to be so, and freelance or no, Betty reckoned Shego Possible to be one of if not THE best pilot currently flying for Global Justice. As soon as the prototype of the second model was up and running, Shego would be receiving a call inviting her to take part in a little project.

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

SUCH a weight off her shoulders! With the question of transportation for the wedding wrapped up, Kim Possible was going to sleep oh so well tonight. Getting ready for bed that night, it truly DID feel like a magnificent weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Spitting her mouthwash into the sink, Kim returned to the bedroom and climbed in next to her spouse.

"Eme, are you sure you don't mind staying behind to keep an eye on Abby while I scout locations in Wellington?" Kim inquired, snuggling up to her wife's toasty warm body.

"We really don't have a lot of choice," Shego answered, closing her laptop, putting it on the nightstand, and wrapping an arm around her wife. "We'd kind of be straddling the no flying window with her pregnancy. Better to err on the side of caution…and besides; Gracie is going in my place. I think I can trust the two of you not to screw up TOO badly without me," Shego couldn't help but smile in spite of the playful elbow to the ribs. Even after nearly fifteen years of marriage, the two still had a competitive and playful streak a mile wide, tossing back and forth playful jibes like most people did tennis balls. "My only concern is that some little Maori hussy might try to lure my little Princess away while I'm not there to defend her honor."

"Yeah…run away with some little exotic beauty," Kim wistfully sighed rolling up on top of her wife, pinning her to the bed. "We'd travel the world getting into all kinds of adventures together," She leaned down and started planting kisses across her wife's bare chest. "But wait! I'm already married to an exotic goddess like no other, with pale skin like porcelain, flowing ebony locks that shine like black velvet. Together, we've raised four of the most wonderful and beautiful children that ever existed." Kim began working her way up until she was face to face with her lady love. "And this July, I'm going to stand before the people who mean the most to me and proclaim to the heavens above that I am going to love her until they day I die!"

"Kimberly Anne Possible…I…who'd have thought that I'd be the happiest, most content woman alive," Shego leaned up and planted a kiss of her own on Kim's ruby lips. "And it would be DRAKKEN who'd be responsible?" She focused on those emerald green eyes that she'd come to love so much. "What that blue dolt did to us was monstrous…but I wouldn't trade my time with you for anything in the world." Heated plasma began coursing through Shego's body, warming the bed and the woman in her embrace. Leaning towards Kim's ear, in a breaty voice, Shego began to sing.

_You are my sunshine_

_My only sunshine_

_You make me happy_

_When skies are gray_

_You'll never know dear_

_How much I love you_

_Oh please don't take_

_My Sunshine away."_

From there, the bed became a whirlwind of exposed flesh and satin sheets.

_Author's Notes:_

_Somehow I knew that with all her little quirks and eccentricities, Kim Possible would most definitely be a bridezilla. This new story marks the inclusion of something that I've wanted to include since I started writing on this site. While it is still very early on in the story, look for the appearance of a certain mythical creature in the chapters that follow. _


	2. Chapter 2

_BEHOLD ME FAMILY! I am Leto, Lion of Atreides, return from the desert sand to announce Secher Nbiw._

Oh, no matter how many times Shego heard that line, it always sent a chill down her spine. Leto Atreides just strolled into the throne room like John Wayne and confronted his fruitcake Aunt, and proceeded to go all Bruce Lee on the palace guards. Not for the first time, Shego was convinced that coming up with the concept of a Popular Literary Genres class had been one of the most brilliant academic ideas she'd ever had. Frank Herbert, JRR Tolkien, Bram Stoker…there were SO many authors that she could work with, in particular Frank Herbert's _Dune_ and _Children of Dune_.

_One of us had to accept the agony…he was always the stronger. History is written on the sands of Arrackis. A chapter has ended, swept away by the whirlwind. A door has closed…but another has opened; and on the other side? Our Future!_

"MAN, that ending always gives me chills," Shego shivered, flipping on the lights and returning to the podium in front of her classroom. "So…questions, comments, concerns?"

"I thought the miniseries was a lot better than the book."

"How so, Charlie?"

"Well Mrs. P, the story works a lot better with Leto and Ghanima being teenagers instead of little kids. Those two as nine year olds was just plain creepy."

Well Shego could hardly fault him for that. _Children of Dune_ was one of the rare cases where Shego felt that the screen adaption had actually been better than the book and Charlie had been absolutely right in her opinion. The whole concept was a lot more plausible and a lot less creepy with the twins being late teenagers instead of nine year olds.

The school bell rang and the kids began piling their books into their bags, more than excited for the holiday break. "Okay everyone; enjoy your time off, have a safe holiday, and always remember…nothing interesting happens after midnight." Good to see that that last bit still got a few laughs. Her teaching mentor had always said that the really memorable teachers always developed a quirk or trademark. Boy had she ever been right! A few of the students wished her a Merry Christmas on their way out and Shego settled in to wait for Gracie.

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

"Vacation, all I ever wanted," Gracie cheered as she led the charge into the house. For the next two weeks, all of her academic concerns were non-existent. For two weeks, she didn't have a care in the world…that is until the foursome walked into the kitchen and saw Mom wielding a fire extinguisher on what used to be the section of the kitchen counter where the toaster sat. A toaster? A freaking TOASTER? Mom was so culinarily inept that she accidentally set a TOASTER on fire? Gracie…Gracie wasn't sure if she should be amused or…horribly ashamed.

"Kimmie, why do I smell something burn…" Momma let out a grunt as she collided with a shocked Gracie, taking in the sight before her, the scene that had played out in her beloved kitchen.

"I…I was just…trying to toast a bagel," Mom utterly refused to look her wife or daughters in the eye. Nicky, seated in his high chair at the table, was staring at Mom with rapt attention. "Nicky…Nicky and I were just…so…so hungry."

Wow…Gracie had heard of uncomfortable silences but this had to have been one for the ages. No one wanted to move, either out of embarrassment or sheer and utter shock. Finally, a smile crept across Momma's face and she burst out laughing, and not just regular laughing. This was Monty Python meets _Blazing Saddles_ and _Young Frankenstein_, all delicately seasoned with a generous helping of SNL. Momma looked to be losing her balance so Gracie rushed to steady her.

"AHA…ha…oh Kimmie, thank you," Momma wheezed, gasping for breath. "I haven't laughed like that in years!"

Looking to Mom, Gracie was pleased to see that she at least had enough spirit to fix Momma with a steely glare. Watching these two go back and forth was more entertaining than anything on TV. They were against it but Gracie was POSITIVE that if they put cameras in the Palace, they could make a reality show that would blow the Kardashians out of the water. What it must have been like to see Mom and Momma in their heyday, back before Mom had gotten pregnant. Based on the stories she grew up hearing, her parents took competitiveness and rivalry to astronomical levels. Moments like this, Gracie and her sibs could really see that fire in their parents' eyes.

Momma took the glare in stride, smiled, and walked up and pulled Mom into a bear hug. "Alright munchkins, enough gawking; let's help your Mom clean up."

The twins made a beeline for the linen closet for towels. Gracie meanwhile gingerly picked up the charred remains of what used to be the toaster and headed outside to the trash can.

"I hate it when you do that," Kim mumbled.

"I'm sure I have no idea what you mean."

"You know darn well what I mean Missy," Kim snapped back, struggling against the hug. "You pull me into your arms and give that 'I'm the only one in the world who matters' look. Makes me feel like you're playing me like a fiddle."

"Are you kidding me?" Was this woman serious? Did Kim have the gall to think that SHE of all people had the right to complain about being played like a fiddle; HER; with that infernal puppy dog pout? "Little Miss Sad Puppy Dog Pout is going to lecture ME on being played like a fiddle?"

"Oh brother," Gracie moaned, shaking the snowflakes out of her hair as she came back in. "Could you to PLEASE get a room? I feel like a need a shot of insulin when you're like that."

It was a losing battle and Kim knew it but she fought to keep a straight face. Cracking a smile Kim leaned up and playfully snapped at the tip of her wife's nose. "Grace Anne Possible, just you wait. Someday you're going to be so madly in love with someone that you just want to hold them and kiss them until the world comes to an end."

And when that day finally arrives," Shego hefted her wife around to the older woman could look their eldest daughter in the face. "And when your children start complaining about you and their dad being too lovey dovey, in that glorious moment, you're going to realize that your dear old Moms DO know what they're talking about on more than one occasion."

"Keep telling yourself that Momma," Gracie laughed as she caught the towel thrown at her by Zoe. "You guys have your moments; I'll give you that. But no matter how you slice it, you're still parents."

"Yeah yeah," Shego released her wife and turned to face the scortch marks on her beautiful kitchen. "Well…since the kitchen's in need of a little TLC, if we all do a good job, I'll treat us to some Thai tonight."

That sure got Gracie's attention. Whether she was four years old or forty, Kim and Shego could be fairly sure that Thai food would always be like crack to their eldest daughter. Shego sure didn't complain. ANYthing was better than those god awful nacos that she craved, all thanks to that little stint in Kimmie's womb. And with the offer of a night out as a reward, everyone else was sufficiently motivated. After half an hour of scrubbing, the counter top began looking like it was at least halfway presentable. By the time Abby had gotten up from her nap…well, the counter wasn't going to make the cover of Better Homes and Gardens any time soon but was at least clean.

"Do I even want to know what happened in here while I was sleeping?"

"No," Kim instantly barked, eyes darting to each of her kids. "You do not. And so help me, I will thump the first person who tries to tell Abby ANYTHING!"

Gracie and the twins all shared a good laugh at Mom's expense. Once the flurry of giggles subsided, the Possible family traipsed out to the family Chevy Traverse to enjoy a family meal and kick start the holiday break off right. Kim pulled into Taste of Thai, the local Thai restaurant of Gracie's choice, and Gracie immediately led the charge inside, barely waiting for the car to stop.

Pad Thai Chicken…Pad Thai Chicken…PAD THAI CHIKCEN! Gracie's mouth was salivating like a starving man staring at a Thanksgiving turkey. The seating hostess led them to their seats and within minutes, Gracie was staring at her own little plate of Heaven.

"Ugggghhhhhh," the thoroughly full fourteen year old groaned, rubbing her bulging stomach after the meal. "I'm sporting a serious food baby over here."

Abby, seated next to Gracie, rolled her eyes and mussed up her charge's hair. "Try carrying an ACTUAL baby, squirt. Then maybe you can have the right to complain."

"Try carrying TWINS," Kim smiled, wrapping her long slender arm around the middle Possible children.

The family traded conversation back and forth and eventually decided to return to the old homestead. The burnt smell was still lingering in the kitchen, the twins, after their baths were taken and PJs were donned, immediately laid claim to the living room floor and had talked George the Naked Mole Rat into a board game. _Good ol' George_, Kim sighed as she took her note pad and settled in on the couch. _Just like Rufus. Wherever you are old friend, your family misses you._

As was her tradition on a Friday night, Gracie took up her Bodhran drum and began working on a little diddy, "to keep the family's spirits up" as Gracie would put it. The twins got a kick out of it and quite often pleaded for their big sis to take requests. Gracie and her sibs had their share of spats but Kim had to marvel at what a wonderful relationship her daughters had, infinitely better that Kim's relationship to her brothers at that age. Em and Zoe worshiped their older sister like a heroine from a comic book. And Gracie? Well Gracie wasn't above messing with her sisters, as most older sisters do, but God have mercy on anyone who dared endanger her baby sisters.

Gracie had just finished her solo rendition of "The Little Beggerman" when Shego, her culinary sanctuary now completely spotless, tapped her on the shoulder.

"Mom's in book mode right now. Wanna spar with your Momma?"

"I guess I could take you to town Momma."

Shego fixed her daughter with a challenging glare that Kimmie had received numerous times in her spouse's youth. "Only in your mind's eye my VERY young apprentice."

Em and Zoe caught the interplay, their game having just concluded with George emerging as the victor, and the two burst out in a fit of giggles. Ever since they were born the twins had lived with Momma's little passion and the constant bickering between Momma and Abby. Much to Abby's chagrin, the twins seemed to be becoming Jedi just like their Momma. The twins had elected to attend last year's Middleton Space-Con dressed as Momma's Ewoks. Momma and Gracie had recently taken up Kendo and the twins always liked to imagine it was a lightsaber battle.

"Can we come watch you Momma" Zoe asked, displaying her own version of Kim's dreaded puppy dog pout.

"You WANT us to come watch," Emily breathed, waving her hands as if to cast a spell.

Shego nearly choked. Had…had her daughter really just done that? She…Shego couldn't think of a time when she'd been prouder of Emily Abigail Possible. Donning a look of mock anger, Shego began advancing on her daughter. "Oh; so you think your Momma's weak minded, do you?" Emily could already sense what was about to happen, giggling and looking around for an avenue of escape.

Shego shot forward, grabbing her daughter by the ankle and hauling her over. With a delicate precision that allowed her to disarm bombs or hack even the most advance computer system, Shego's fingers danced across her terminally ticklish daughter, filling the living room with squeals of delight.

"Come on you two," Shego breathed, getting a grip on her own laughter. "Come watch your weak minded Momma show your big sister exactly how much she still has to learn."

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

Mom and Momma were TOTALLY going to love this spankin Christmas present. Abby had been a total genius for suggesting it. Most Christmas seasons, the girls each got their Moms separate presents but this year, all agreed that they wanted to pool their money and do something very big this year. The three had spent the entire weekend wracking their brains, trying to come up with something good when, after voicing their frustrations to Abby after church, their long time nanny and confidant suggested the girls get a professional portrait done of the four kids. That…that was…so brilliant that Gracie couldn't believe that they hadn't thought of it before! Mom was a serious camera jockey on family vacations and Momma never needed an excuse to flash her snapshots, no matter how it embarrassed the parties involved. They could all wear their Sunday best for the photo and make it real classy.

And so the Possible children found themselves inside the Shutterbug Studio at Middleton Mall. Abby had agreed to take the kids out Christmas shopping but Mom was deeply curious as to what her girls were planning…and why exactly were they bringing a change of clothes…and why was Abby bringing Nicky with them? Had Momma not been sleeping in, they would've been peppered with even more distractions like how if they really loved their mothers, they wouldn't keep secrets. Momma constantly complained about Mom's patented puppy dog pout but she was either blissfully or deliberately ignorant of just how heavy a guilt trip she could lay on the people she loved.

_Thank goodness for small mercies_, Gracie thought to herself with a smile as she took one last look in the mirror. The cream colored dress and blouse was a nice touch. And the sterling necklace with the small black pearl her parents had gotten her last year had really completed the ensemble. Man…even in church clothes, Gracie A. Possible looked good!

"Alright little miss runway model," Gracie could see Abby's reflection in the mirror, rolling her eyes behind Gracie's back. "You look fine. The photographer's waiting."

Gracie stuck her tongue out, turned back to the mirror and decided that she looked ready…but NOT because Abby told her!

The photographer directed the twins in front with Nicky seated between them. Gracie was kneeling on the platform behind them with her arm around her sisters. It took some coaxing but Em and Zoey were able to get a smile out of their brother and get him to hold it.

SNAP…SNAP…SNAP…

All three of the photos turned out great. The studio had a wide selection of frames available and after a brief discussion, the trio of Possible sisters had settled on the finishing touches to their master present for their parents.

Comfortably back in their street clothes, Gracie stopped her sibs up short of the food court. "Alright ladies; oath time." The trio joined hands and circled up. Together, the sisters recited their promise:

Under threat of death

Under pain of torture

NEVER shall we spill our guts!

Sisters forever!

Every time those three swore their secret oath, it made Abby regret never having any sisters. It sure as Hell was better than some of the "oaths" her older brothers had made her swear; cleaner too. Sometimes, it was a marvel that Abigail Normal had escaped her four older brothers with so little emotional scarring as she did. But…even as the thoughts left her head, she knew that she wasn't being fair. As far as childhoods went, hers may have been greasy and caked in mud but she wouldn't change a bit of it. Charlie, Ray, Bobby, and Steve…they were and always would be her Big Bros. Rubbing her protruding stomach, she once again took joy in the fact that said brothers were going to be Uncles. Their baby sis was going to have a baby all her own.

"Alright girls, chow time," Abby announced, gesturing at the food court. "And Gracie, PLEASE choose something other than that industrial slop Beuno Nacho calls Mexican food."

_Author's Notes:_

_Christmas in June. I thought it would be funny to make Kim unable to even toast a bagel in the kitchen without something horrible happening. Oddly enough, it took me a while to come up with that Star Wars veiled insult._

_Children of Dune is the intellectual property of Frank Herbert and the copyrighted property of SyFy channel._


	3. Chapter 3

The congregation loudly applauded as Kimmie and her Sunday school class returned to the front of the Sanctuary and took a bow. It hadn't been pretty, as most productions done by seven and eight year olds were, but Zoe had made about the most adorable Virgin Mary Shego had ever seen; and Emily? Even while trying to maintain her composure, everyone could see that she clearly enjoyed being lifted off the ground to be the Christmas Angel. Emily Abigail certainly WAS Kim and Shego's daughter.

"Thank you Mrs. Possible and our Sunday school class for that wonderful performance," Father Harry Steuben applauded as he shook Kimmie's hand. "To conclude our Christmas service, we will now be treated to our Young Women's Chorus."

OOOOOH; Gracie was on her way up! Now, Shego had promised both herself and Gracie that this would finally be the year that Shego WOULDN'T cry. Shego…she just couldn't help it. Every year, Gracie got up in front of everyone…and her voice was just so wonderfully suited for Christmas Carols.

_The First Noel_

_The Angels did sing_

_Was to certain poor shepherds_

_In fields as they lay_

NO…NO…NO! Shego could feel herself losing it. The tears were flowing! She could feel it…nggggghhhh…HER DAUGHTER HAD THE VOICE OF AN ANGEL!

_In fields where they_

_Lay keeping their sheep_

_On a cold winter's night_

_That was so deep_

_Noel, Noel_

_Noel, Noel_

_Born is the King_

_Of Israel_

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

"Momma, you promised!"

Every year…every DARN year Momma wound up rushing towards Gracie after the Christmas service, face streamed with makeup, tears still rolling down her face. It was cute at first but by age 13, it was getting just a little bit weird.

"I'm sorry Muffin, but…_sniff_…you were just so wonderful up there!"

Gracie glanced at Mom. Almost as if via telepathy, Gracie could her Mom's patronizing voice, saying things like "Woman-up and take your medicine" and "you know she loves you so it won't kill you to humor her". Well…one day it just MIGHT kill her and THEN Mom would be sorry! But…until then she'd just have to live with it.

"Thanks Momma," Gracie wrapped her arms around her mother in a hug. "I'm glad you liked it."

"Did we do good too Momma?" Zoe piped up, tugging on the hem of Momma's dress.

"Oh my little sweeties," Shego gasped, scooping up her younger daughters into her arms, planting kisses on their faces. "You were amazing! I know I sure couldn't do that. I'm so proud of both of you!"

And she truly was. It was just a shame that Nicky was too big to play the Baby Jesus. Then she could've had footage of all of her darlings on stage. Shego gave all her little performers on last congratulatory group hug and the party retreated to the family car for the annual trek to Smarty Mart.

Now was Shego's time to shine. Apart from their traditional pancake breakfast, Christmas Day was the only day of the year where each family member got to choose one dish, no questions asked. The only caveat was that each person had to pick out their own ingredients at Smarty Mart. It was kind of Shego's own little unique touch to the holiday. Pulling into the first available parking space, Shego ceased to be a wife and mother, instead morphing into an affectation of General Patton on Steroids.

"Okay troops," Shego barked, pulling a shopping cart out of the rack. "Our mission is to obtain all the necessary comestibles to make this a Christmas feast for the ages. We meet back here at 1:30 sharp! Is that understood?"

The twins were still at that golden age where they thought this was all some grand joke for them to play along with. Snapping to attention, the girls replied in unison, "Aye aye Momma." Kim and Gracie meanwhile were shifting their eyes from side to side, hoping nobody would recognize them while Shego was like this.

"Soooo…am I also going to think THAT is normal when I have kids of my own?" Gracie asked, drawing her own cart and hefting Zoe inside.

"Uh…no; no you won't," Kim eyed Shego sideways and rolled her eyes. "That…that's always going to be just plain weird.

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

Shego LOVED the smell of evergreens, especially Fraser Firs. It just really felt like Christmas when that aroma began filling her nostrils. Climbing out of the Traverse, Shego took a big whiff of the tree strapped to the roof and sighed contentedly. _Oh Christmas Tree, oh Christmas Tree, how lovely are thy branches?_ Shego released the bungee cords and each taking hold of a sturdy lower branch, Shego and Kim hauled the tree down and onto the porch. Gracie just didn't know what she was missing. Not for the first time and definitely not for the last time, Shego heaved a sigh. Teenagers…there was just no understanding them. Sure, they needed someone to stay behind and help Abby and Nicky. But Gracie almost seemed to act like going out and getting a Christmas tree was some horrific chore. While her life's ambition was teach them, Shego Possible just understood less and less about the way those hormone fueled minds worked.

The twins had just begun deciding who was going to put what ornament on the tree when their conversation was silenced by a cry from inside the house.

"MOM, MOMMA, GET IN HERE QUICK!"

Shego and Kim locked eyes. The Palace was most likely the most secure private residence in the country. Shego had long ago seen to that. But with years of instincts honed by the most severe combat, not to mention that fateful day a knife fight with a synthrodrone had nearly cost Kimmie and an unborn Gracie their lives, both parents were far beyond taking chances.

The door burst open and after a quick survey of the room, thankfully nothing was immediately wrong. The only ones in sight were Abby seated on one of the couches, her Heckler &amp; Koch side arms field stripped on the coffee table, and Gracie holding Nicky up in the middle of the living room.

"Gracie…what's going…"

"Come on Nicky; go to Mom and Momma."

Gracie let go of her baby brother, balancing him on shaky little legs. But ever so slowly, those shaky little legs began to steady up and start moving forward. Left then Righ…Left then right. It took several moments for Shego put together the events laying out before her. Nicky was…OH MY GOT! Nicky was walking! These were their baby boy's first steps! Whipping out the Shegophone, the record function came on, taking in every glorious moment.

"Come on Nicky," Kimmie knelt down and held out her arms, a blissful smile plastered across her face. "Come to Mommy. You can do it."

And do it he did. With the entire family cheering him on, Nicky made the last few steps and was immediately swept up into Kim's arms and smothered with congratulatory kisses.

Everyone savored the early Christmas present and used it to set the mood for decorating the tree. Shego was just reaching up to cap the tree with the family Christmas Angel when the chime on the Kimmunicator sounded.

"This is Kim Possible."

"Mrs. Possible, this is Special Agent Alcott, Dr. Director's personal aide. The Director requests that you meet with her as soon as is convenient for you."

"Uh…okay," Kim replied. "Tell Dr. Director that I'll be there in twenty."

Shego looked up, hearing her wife's response and wondering what was up. "Global Justice? What did they want?"

They didn't say," Kim answered, staring quizzically at the blank screen. "But they said to come as soon as it was convenient So it can't be a big emergency…can it?"

"Only if the villainous world decided to learn the easy way to stop messing with us; do you know that GJ Intel calls us 'The Salamanders', always drawn to where the fire is hottest?"

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

Dammit Sheldon; what were you planning? Betty's brother may not be a genius but even a broken clock could be right twice a day…and something about this whole situation stunk to high heaven!

"Dr. Director," Cecil's voice came over the intercom. "Kimberly Possible is here to see you."

"Thank you Cecil. Show her in please."

The door slid open and Cecil ushered the guest to a seat, retreating to his desk in the anteroom.

"Sorry for interrupting your holiday Kim," the director apologized, going up to the coffee maker and offering Kim a cup.

"Thank you," Kim replied, taking the offered cup. "It's no trouble. We'd just put the finishing touches on the tree when you called. What's up?"

"Well…my hope is nothing," Betty replied, taking her seat once again. "Intel notified me yesterday that there's been a spike in WEE chatter in recent months, specifically in south east Asia and Polynesia. Intel thinks that the chatter could indicate a potential operation in the works."

"Do they have any indication as to what kind of operation?"

"We're still not sure," Betty frowned, scrolling through the still compiling file on the subject. "We've got several assets in the area and Intel is currently sifting through any and all potential targets; which brings me to why I called. I'm sorry to ask this of you, especially when you're planning your wedding but…you're going to be in New Zealand in a few days, correct?"

Kim nodded, unsure of where her friend was going with this. Why did it seem like every time she went anywhere overseas when NOT on a mission, it always wound up as trouble? "Gracie and I are heading down to look at churches and banquet halls for the ceremony and reception."

"Well, would it be a terrible inconvenience if you tagged Auckland onto the end of your trip?" Betty tented her finger and gave Kim an apologetic look. The pair may have been her best freelance agents…but they were also very close friends. Betty had been present for Gracie's school plays; she'd watched the twins' peewee soccer team win the championship. She genuinely cared about these people and…Betty was living proof of what could happen if you let this job interfered with your personal life too often. And if she could help it, she would prevent that from happening to the woman before her and her wife if it was at all within Betty's power. But…There was no one Betty trusted more. "I've already got Personnel running background checks on all R&amp;D Personnel but it would be a huge load off my mind if an independent onsite security inspection was done. It'd only be an extra day, two at the most."

Kim must've been expecting something direr because she laughed it off and readily agreed, assuring Betty that it was no trouble at all. Knowing Gracie, the pint sized adrenaline junky would be all too eager to get a peek at the new mech suits and would likely look at the whole thing as a big belated Christmas gift from Aunt Betty.

As Kim left, Betty closed her eyes and pictured her brother. _Sheldon, so help me, I WILL find out what you're up to. And if it should prove to be Auckland…God help you, you bastard! I will NOT let you bring any harm to that family!_

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

"CHRISTMAS MORNING; IT'S CHRISTMAS MORNING!"

Like the wrath of God, the twins burst into Kim and Shego's room and landed on the bed. The sudden impact jolted Kim's eyes open and immediately sought out the alarm clock to…FIVE AM!? What in the name of all things holy did the twins think they were doing?

"Mmmmffff…slart…gloof…chrsmask?" a semi-comatose Shego mumbled, a trail of drool running down her mouth.

"I'm being punished," Kim groaned to no one in particular. "Alright God; alright Mom; I think you've all had a good laugh at my expense…but I think it's enough." Dragging her matted mess of red hair out of bed, she turned to the twins. "Girls, I'm fairly certain that Santa left you a couple of movies in your Christmas stockings. Santa will take VERY special note next year if you don't wake Mom and Momma up until you watch both of them."

Thank GOD that had been enough to get them out of the room. Kim never liked to display mindless violence in front of the girls but if that had gone on much longer…SOMETHING would've been broken! Thank God Kim didn't have Eme's plasma powers.

Several hours later, Kim drifted out of her slumber and checked the clock once again. Nine am…THAT was more like it! Climbing out from under the covers, Kim leaned down to Shego's ear. "Merry Christmas Love of my Life, Queen of my Heart, and all around wonderful person."

"Do those credentials earn me coffee?" Shego grunted, wiping the spittle from her mouth. "Was I dreaming or did somebody fire a cannon at our bed last night?"

"Ha…something like that," Kim smiled, getting off the bed and heading for the door. "I'll meet you downstairs with coffee."

Kim walked downt he stairs to the scene of the twins in the living room enjoying the last few minutes of the copy of "Frigid" Zoe had gotten in her stocking. "Merry Christmas sweeties," Kim walked up and planted a kiss on the green and black heads seated before the TV.

"Merry Christmas Mom," the twins replied in unison.

Abby and Shego soon made their appearances and began putting a serious dent in the coffee. All that was left was Gracie, still out cold and waltzing through la la land.

George squeaked from the top of the stairs that Gracie just wouldn't wake up. George was getting a little antsy as the smell of his Christmas present under the tree was driving him crazy. Glancing at her watch, Kim came to a decision. As a teenager, Kim could never understand Mom's reason for sending Jim and Tim up to her room every Christmas. At the time it had just seemed plain mean. But like a bolt of lightning, Kim realized that what she'd been saying to Gracie for years was indeed right.

"Girls, we don't want Gracie to miss breakfast. If she doesn't get up soon…well she's going to starve. What say we give her a hand?"

Under normal circumstances, that mischievous look would usually prove certain doom as well as a time out for anyone that dared flash it in Mom's presence. But today, on the blessed day of our Savior's birth, Kim was indeed pleased to see that spirit in her daughters' eyes.

"Oh dear," Shego sighed, downing the last of her coffee and making a move for a refill. "This could get a little loud."

Trekking back up the stairs, the twins crept into their big sister's room with Mom and George at their backs. This was going to be mighty interesting. Em and Zoe had made many an attempt to make incursions into Gracie's room for a variety of purposes. But whenever it involved purposes Mom would say were "naughty", Gracie always seemed to appear out of nowhere to stop them. But now…now they had Mom on their side.

"Attention Gracie Possible," Kim called out. "In the spirit of the holiday season, you have been selected out of thousands of applicants for a free wake-up call…GET HER GIRLS!"

In a repeat performance, the twins flipped onto their sister's bed and began jumping up and down.

"ALRIGHT," Gracie groaned, heaving a pillow in the direction of the door. "ALRIGHT! I'm getting up Mom! Call of the dogs!"

With the last remaining family member seated at the table, everyone breathed in the smells of the Possible family Christmas breakfast. Kim motioned for everyone to join hands and bow their heads. "Eternal Father, we thank you for this blessed day, and for the gift of your son. Thank you for our loving family and please guide Seamus home safely to Abby within the coming weeks. Please bless this food to our bodies and continue to guide us that we might walk in your glory. We ask these things in the name of thy son, Jesus Christ. Amen."

With the prayer concluded, the Possible family tore into the breakfast of pumpkin pancakes, garlic seasoned scrambled eggs, sausage links, and some of Momma's homemade bread. After over 15 years of marriage, Kim had come to the inescapable conclusion that had Shego ever tried simply cooking for her teenage adversary, that would've been the end of it. Kim Possible would've gladly walked towards a life of villainy if the reward was Shego cooking for her on a nightly basis. Whoever said a mate who could cook was a big catch, well they weren't just whistling "Dixie".

"Oh Eme…you've outdone yourself," Kim congratulated, swallowing a mouthful of syrup drenched pancake.

"And GRACIE wanted to sleep in," Abby taunted, buttering another slice of toasted bread.

By meal's end, the plates had been virtually liked clean and each person was sitting back in their chairs, thoroughly satisfied and blissful. It took every ounce of strength and will power Kim possessed to get out of her chair and up to answer the knocking door. Checking the scanner, she was pleased to see it was the rest of the family. Mom, Dad, Tim and his wife Heather, and Jim's wife Andrea filed through the door to joyous greetings. The twins bolted from their seats and ran straight into their Aunts' arms. Twins themselves, Heather and Andrea Babineau had been the object of Jim and Tim's affection since they first met in their third year of college. Whoever said opposites attract HAD to have been talking about those four. Where Jim and Tim excelled at mechanical engineering alongside their longtime best friends and current business partners Walter and Warren Gordon, Shego's youngest brothers, Andrea and Heather had received top marks at Boston University College of English. Andrea had parlayed that into a very successful career as a film and literary critic for the Boston Globe and Heather into an executive position with Kim's Publisher.

"It's just too bad that Jim couldn't be here," Andrea sighed, rubbing her three month pregnant belly. "He sends you all his love."

"Did he say where he's consulting?" Shego asked, planting a kiss on her sister-in-law's cheek.

"Australia for the most part. We face chatted late last night."

One by one, the rest of the guests arrived and everyone took their positions in the living room while Kim began passing around glasses of the ice wine she'd bought for the event. As was usually the responsibility of the younger set the twins and RJ began dividing up the presents into piles and passing them out, signaling the beginning of the festivities.

The girls were very insistent that their parents open the first gift. Kim and Shego were equally surprised when Gracie and Abby hauled a great wrapped bundle from behind the tree. So…THIS was the product of the girls' mysterious trip to the mall. Normally each of the girls each got a present for Mom and Momma but…Kim was genuinely curious about what the girls had procured.

"We hope you like it," Emily replied nervously.

Shego smiled at her wife as the two grabbed hold of the wrapping. Both women gave a yank and the paper fell away. Kim…Kim loved it! The girls and Nicky had gotten a portrait done and…her babies all looked so grown up.

"Ohhh…I love it girls." Shego gasped, turning to pull her children into a family hug.

Shego wasted no time, running straight to the utility closet for a step ladder, hammer, and nail. With the portrait firmly secured above the fireplace, the ceremony continued. Gracie had about passed out when she unwrapped her new karaoke machine and the twins were overjoyed, Emily at her easy bake oven and Zoe at her magic kit. Both of the girls looked splendid in the new gi's that Shego had made for them. More gifts were opened and by the time most others had settled in to watch "A Christmas Story", Shego had hauled her cooking team into the kitchen to begin preparations for dinner.

"Please tell me Gracie didn't pick nacos this year," Anne quietly chuckled.

"Better than meatloaf shaped like a brain Grandma!"


	4. Chapter 4

"I'm missing you guys already," Shego cooed, holding her wife and her eldest daughter tightly. "Promise me that you'll call when you land in Honolulu?"

"It'll be just like you're there with us," Kim answered, returning the hug and planting a juicy kiss on her wife's cheek. "Gracie, go start the preflight for me?"

Like Kim even needed to ask. Gracie kissed her Momma goodbye and bolted for the pilot's seat, giving her parents a degree of privacy. Alone with her wife, Shego couldn't really explain the feeling in the pit of her stomach. If you'd told her twenty years ago that Shego would be on a first name basis with the head of Global Justice, Shego would've been sure that you were drunk and drastically imbalanced. But despite it all, she'd grown to genuinely trust and like Betty. Ever since the beginning of Shego and Kim's unique relationship, Betty had done her best to do right by Shego. And as ironic as it sounded, Shego counted Betty as a close friend. But…with this "mission"…Shego just couldn't explain it. One the one hand, this affair really concerned her, really set her guts churning. But on the other…maybe Shego was just getting a little paranoid.

"Promise me that you'll be careful?" Shego pleaded, unable to hide her emotions from the woman who knew her best. "I won't be there to watch your beautiful bubbly behind."

"Ha…my behind has endured your…absence before," Kim laughed, gazing into her wife's green eyes. "Besides," Kim leaned in and breathed into her wife's ear. "I feel compelled to demonstrate my utter gratitude to my noble Jedi Warrior, my rescuer from a life of slavery. Upon my return, my noble savoir will be in…utter…BLISS!"

Shego's legs turned to mush. "Nnnggghhh…I am SO going to hold you to that Possible. I'll be waiting for your call tonight."

The pair parted ways and Kim sealed the door to the hovercraft, getting a tight seal. Shego's gut may well be right; something may very well be a foot. But…all it was was a security inspection. Kim had seen the intelligence reports and the analysis was solid. As of yet, there was no indication that Auckland was the target, and even if it was, it would be at least two months until they could mount anything. Kim's objective was only to ensure that if it would prove to be Auckland, they would be prepared. Global Justice had any number of units in the area available to respond to any crisis that might arise.

"Are we ready to go?" Kim asked, taking the copilot's seat.

"All set to kick the tires and light the fires," Gracie boasted, finishing the last check. "It'll be just like Beggar's Canyon back home."

Why? WHY didn't she put her foot down, nip this in the butt early? And with more movies on the horizon? Sure…in the privacy of the bedroom, Shego's little passion had provided many nights of fun. But Kim had seen Emily try that "mind trick". Ha…her family! She'd married a Jedi Guardian and together they'd produced a Rogue Leader and a pair of little Ewoks…and Kim STILL couldn't believe she even knew what those things were.

"Just…just get us in the air please," Kim laughed, her voice dripping with irony, patting her daughter on the back and donning a headset. "Middleton Tower, this is Private Flight Possible 2022 requesting permission for takeoff."

"Roger 2022; clearance is granted. The skies are yours."

The familiar hum of the repulsor engines coming to life sounded through the hanger. With a precision that had been instilled in her since the beginning of her training, Gracie brought the hovercraft out into the open air. This…this had been her home away from home since she was litte. Gracie could remember every one of the times Mom or Momma had put her in the pilot's seat, firmly on their laps. Flying was the greatest feeling Gracie know of. The sense of absolute freedom was exactly what Gracie imagined must be Heaven on Earth.

"I am a leaf on the wind," Gracie breathed, heaving a contented sigh. "Watch how I soar."

Well…at least Gracie wasn't a total lost cause. At least Joss Whedon fans like her dear cousin of the same name as well as her BFF and her husband, Monique and Felix Renton, tended to have personality and dared to be original with their fandom. Kim could certainly appreciate the political and historical undertones of Whedon's _Firefly_ series. Mon certainly didn't seem to want to drop the idea of she and Kim accompanying Felix and the rest of the gang to Space-Con, the pair of them dressed as Browncoats. Not for the first time, Kim reflected on exactly what a wonderful relationship her BFF and Ron's gaming buddy had. Much like Kim and Shego, the pair was always challenging each other to expand their horizons. Thank God Mon had succeeded in convincing Felix to branch out with his wardrobe. And Mon…well it had come as quite a surprise when their last girls night out had involved watching _The Avengers_. "So muffin, you never told us what Billy got you for Christmas."

"Oh, I forgot," Gracie answered, blinking as if she'd just come out of a trance. "We agreed that we should encourage each other to broaden our horizons. So he got me an old black and white movie."

Really? That was a surprise. Billy was a pretty good kid. Kim had worked with Billy's father for years and counted him as a good friend. More importantly though, Billy Murphy was always a perfect gentleman around her daughter, largely because of his upbringing; but despite all of those positive traits and redeeming qualities, when it came to movies, every Murphy man that Kim had ever known was and always would be a quintessential "guy". Kim didn't think Greg Murphy nor did any of his three sons ever watch anything earlier than those silly Clint Eastwood "spaghetti Westerns" from the 1970s. "Wow…that's a surprise. Dare I ask which one?"

"I know, right?" Gracie laughed, following the same train of thought as her Mom. "He got me a copy of this old Cold War movie called _Dr. Strangelove_."

Kim had been in the process of drinking from the lemonade she'd just opened when she nearly spit it out the mouthful of fluid all over the console. Really? REALLY? Not only did she owe Greg an apology but she owed every Murphy man going back to the film's release in 1969 a debt of thanks. As the daughter of a rocket scientist, Kim had been bred on that movie and its treasure trove of quotables even more than she had been on Mel Brooks. Yet…for some reason, it had never occurred to her to share that cinematic gem with her own kids. Now that she thought about it, she'd never even shared that movie with Eme.

"Gracie…sweetie…this is very important. DID you bring the movie with you," Gracie hesitantly nodded, looking as if ol' Mom might have finally cracked under the stress of planning the wedding. "Spankin! I'll got make us a big bowl of popcorn and my daughter and I are going to settle in to watch the greatest movie EVER!"

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

"This is Honolulu tower. We have you on approach. Please identify yourself."

"Roger that Tower. This is Private Flight Possible 2022 requesting clearance to land."

Okay so Mom hadn't been just blowing smoke. The movie had turned out to be pretty funny. It was cool to see a really young James Earl Jones. And Gracie felt like a lot of Mr. Murphy's humor and jokes made a lot more sense after having seen General Turgidson. That had gotten them to the foot of the Rocky Mountains and electing to show mercy on Mom, Gracie had selected the Russell Crowe version of _Robin Hood_. Ever since their little adventure in _Skyrim_, Mom and Gracie had developed a shared passion for medieval combat and weaponry. As Gracie saw it, she and Momma had Kendo and "Jedi Combat" while she and Mom had sword and shield to bond over. There was any number of activities that Mom and Momma liked for family activities but each one love to have a personal activity that they liked to spend with Gracie or the twins or both. Gracie had been developing a particular penchant for axe craft and she and Mom were both becoming more than fair archers.

Upon getting approval to land, Mom brought the craft to a smooth stop and landing in the assigned hanger. Though she'd been several times with the family on vacation, the prospect of a night spent in Hawaii was quite appealing to a fourteen year old girl; surfing, hula dancing; exactly how much could she fit into their schedule tonight? Billy's older brother Hank was a naval officer stationed at Pearl Harbor and Mom had said Mr. Murphy had called ahead and Hank and his wife were willing to put them up for the night. Grabbing her overnight bag and following Mom down the ramp, Gracie was immediately struck by the Naval Officer standing before them. Wow…Billy had said that he wanted to follow in his brothers footsteps, at least to get through college, and if THAT was what Billy would look like in a uniform? Ouch…Gracie would definitely be on board with that.

"Mrs. Possible?" Hank reached out his hand for a shake. "It's great to see you again."

"Why little Henry Murphy, you cut quite the dashing figure in your naval uniform," Mom smiled, gladly returning the handshake. "And this has to be Mia, the lucky lady that managed to tame the wild one before me."

"It…it's an honor to meet you Mrs. Possible," Mia breathed, shaking Mom's hand and turning to Gracie. "So THIS is the one who's managed to snag my little brother-in-law's heart."

Hank's wife seemed to be nice enough. Everyone piled into Hank's Jeep and were quickly whisked through the city and in no time at all, the vehicle was pulling onto Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam and the living quarters within. Gracie could see them get more than a few stares as they drove through, Mom being pretty recognizable on almost any military base in the Western World. When they came to a stop at Hank and Mia's house, a few brave souls even approached Mom asking for an autograph.

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

"Man, Billy wasn't kidding when he said his girlfriend was absolutely obsessed with flying," Hank voiced, returning to the grill. Hank had made reservations at The Blue Lagoon, a popular dining and socializing establishment geared towards officers with families. Predictably Kim had drawn more than a few stares upon entering. Several of the female officers and their family members approached, voicing their admiration for Kim and Shego's exploits. Gracie meanwhile had immediately sought out all of the fliers in the building and began chatting them up. It could only happen in their family; Gracie, at age 14 had already had more combat experience than most of the pilots in the room and was currently taking her crowd of followers through Gracie's experiences during the Montreal Affair.

"That's her Momma's doing," Kim sighed. "She took to flying like a duck to water. She was prop and jet qualified within a year but somehow she had to take driver's education twice and the second time with Shego as the instructor."

"How's Mrs. P doing these days?" Hank had been one of Shego's more promising students towards the beginning of her teaching career when the twins were born.

"Oh, about the same as always," Kim described after taking a swallow of her lite beer. "Students still love her and she's still dragging us to Star Wars conventions."

Mia snorted into her drink, nearly choking. "Your wife's a Star Wars nerd?"

That sent a peal of laughter around the table, everyone who knew Shego having thought that same thing when they discovered that little gem in her life. Hank remembered how Mrs. P would come in once every other week dressed as a Jedi for the class's "Star Wars Day", a day in which she would use Star Wars to explain the content they were working on. "Mia honey, this woman is a LEGEND at Middleton High School. She once melted a trophy into a puddle of goo in front of a jock with a big mouth; went down in school history after that."

At the mention of Kim's ring, Kim proceeded to regale them with her version of the Montreal Affair, how Shego had planned the whole thing with the express purpose of asking Kim to remarry her, and the resulting adventure that ensued. Mia found the whole thing deeply romantic and voiced her jealousy at missing out on going to New Zealand.

"Because a Hawaiian paradise isn't enough?" Hank chuckled, rolling his eyes. "You ACTUALLY strapped yourself down to an F22 Raptor and rode it up to the fortress?"

"With Gracie piloting the whole way," Kim bragged, lounging back in her chair as if it was so not the drama. "It was kind of like a Call of Duty game only with your eyes as the screen."

Mia glanced at her husband and grumbled in frustration, seeing all too well the look of excitement in his eyes. "Henry Thomas Murphy, so help me if you even THINK of trying something like that, I'll thump you so hard it will make your old ROTC instructor cringe!"

"Not to mention what your mother would do to me if she found out I told you about it," Kim giggled, watching Hank squirm under his wife's glare and doing his best to look thoroughly chastised.


	5. Chapter 5

Gracie breathed in the cool sea air as she and Mom backed the Mustang out of the craft's large cargo bay. It was leaps and bounds warmer than western PA but there was definitely a pleasant nip in the air. But more than anything…GOOD GRIEF; she needed a good night's sleep. According to Mom, it was a sixteen hour time difference between Middleton and Wellington! Ugh…Gracie felt like the walking dead in the seat next to Mom. How…how did Mom manage to look so awake?

"I know you're almost fifteen Gracie dear," Mom sighed, flashing her ID to Airport Security as they drove off. "But the moment we check into the hotel, it is so 'Bedtime for Bonzo'."

"No arguments…_YAWN_…here Mom," Gracie moaned, fighting to stay awake as far as the hotel. "How…_YAAWWWWWNNNN_…how are you still awake?"

And try she did, bravely and valiantly. Under different circumstances, Gracie would've been awestruck at the bright lights and the beautiful cityscape they were currently driving through. Wellington truly was a lovely city. Kim took in the whole street. She and Eme had done several missions in the land of the Kiwis and in general, it was just a pleasing environment all around. The Bolton Hotel loomed in front of them and Kim pulled into the parking lot. Mother and daughter checked in at the lobby and Kim got Gracie to the elevator as quickly as possible. The trip to their floor was a little iffy. By the time Kim had managed to get the door unlocked and both the Possibles had dropped their luggage on the sofa, Gracie Possible had officially gone as far as she could go. Never mind being subtle; Gracie just fell to the cushy bed and completely clocked out.

_Just like when she'd fight to stay awake when we'd let her stay up_, Kim thought to herself, _Out like a lite. _Kim's maternal instincts took over and she began cradling her daughter with one arm and lifting the sheets with the other. Kim nestled the nearly comatose Gracie onto the cotton sheets and wraped the blankets securely around her eldest daughter.

_Gracie Possible, why do you have to grow up so fast?_ Kim sighed to herself, gazing at the product of her labor. _Ha…in more ways than one. But at least this is something that you'll never get too old for_. Kim leaned down and planted a tender kiss on her forehead.

"Goodnight my precious baby," Kim breathed, tucking the covers just a tiny bit tighter.

You had to feel for the poor girl. Throughout the years, Kim had gotten to the point that jet lag didn't really affect her. She was coast to coast so often that her inner clock adjusted fairly easily. The same was said of Shego. Poor Gracie…a sixteen hour time change was hard for anybody but her daughter was TOTALLY wiped out. Secure in the belief that Gracie was sleeping soundly, and being the consummate organizer that she was, with a compulsion that Ron and Monique claimed rivaled that of Veronica from _Pals_, Kim unpacked their bags.

_GRRRRRRRRR!_

Wow; Kim must've been a lot hungrier than she thought, hearing her stomach trying to tell her so. Kim and Gracie had only had snacks since lunch. If she remembered the website correctly, the Bolton Hotel had two pretty well thought of restaurants attached to the hotel. As quietly as a mouse so as not to disturb Gracie, Kim locked the door and headed to the elevator.

_Hmmm…8 pm in Wellington would be…about 4 am in Middleton? I don't want to risk waking Nicky up._

Whipping out her Kimmunicator once the elevator doors dinged closed, Kim keyed up the video messaging app and began recording. "Hey Eme; we just landed in Wellington about an hour ago and checked into the Bolton Hotel. Jet lag's hit the munchkin like a brick so I put her to bed. I'm gonna get a bite to eat in the hotel bar; then I'll probably turn in too. We start scouting tomorrow morning so we'll be sending you lots of pictures. Give the twins and Nicky a kiss for me; love you," Kim brought the screen up and gave a long kiss. "And THAT Mrs. Possible, is a little preview of things to come." The elevator dinged when the doors opened on the lobby. "Okay, now I really gotta go cause I'm totally starved; night night…or good morning depending on the perspective."

Kim laughed at her own joke and pocketed the Kimmunicator. Now…where to get some decent grub? The hotel attendant directed her in the direction of Corina's, a high end Rugby bar attached to the hotel, that boasted top shelf but down to Earth food. Stepping through the doors, the atmosphere was decently pleasing. There was a variety of patrons that Kim could see, ranging from what were likely college age kids celebrating a night out, to people her own age, even what she was positive was an elderly couple celebrating an anniversary.

It was a fair place to get a bite to eat. Kim smiled and took a seat at the bar. Taking a stray menu, she began perusing her culinary choices.

"Evenin' ma'am, the cheery bartender greeted her. "What's yah pleasah?"

What the heck! She felt like a treat. "Can I get an order of fish and chips and a pint of Kilkenny Irish Ale?"

"Right away ma'am."

The bartender poured Kim her drink and she began sipping it while she people watched a little. Her eyes fell on the college kids. You know, Kim had never really had that "crazy college phase thanks to that hefty dose of responsibility and life experience that Drakken's hair-brained scheme had heaped on her. But...eh…C'est la vie as the French say. Her books on Early English History were taught in any number of college campuses across the world where the subject was studied. Every one of her five _Feronia Syndicate_ novels had spent six months on the _New York Times_ Best Seller list. She had an unbelievably breathtaking wife and four beautiful children. So she didn't "get to" wake up with a pounding headache in the middle of a filthy dorm room? Not exactly a missed opportunity when you thought about it. Her only great regret was that it had taken her and Eme so long to realize their feelings for each other; so many wasted years.

"What's this; a pretty Shelia all by her lonesome?"

Kim's eyes darted to the unexpected guest next to her. It actually turned out to be two women. One was a leggy blonde, bordering on six feet tall. The other; with the series of small facial tattoos and the tanned complexion and the fact that Kim was sitting at a bar in New Zealand, she was a Maori. Looking closer, at the held hands, each with a ring on the appropriate finger…Kim would bank on the pair being in good company with her and Eme.

"Aren't we all," Kim smiled, raising her glass. "I'm just getting a bite to eat while my daughter's asleep in the room."

"You're a Yank?" the Blonde replied, mildly surprised.

"Last time I checked," Kim nodded, setting her glass down. "You ladies care to join me?"

"Love to mate," the Maori woman said, taking the stool her partner had pulled out for her. "Izzy and me thought you had the look of a mum taking a break from the 'biters; us too. I'm Stella."

They were a family? Good to hear. Unfortunately homosexual parenting, at least in the states, still caused a bit of a societal stir, even after nearly half the states recognized homosexual marriage and nearly three quarters recognized adoption; so Kim and Eme were always happy to meet fellow parents. "I'm Kim; How many you two have?"

"Two little boys," Izzy answered after ordering their drinks. "Name of Liam and Olly." She dug in her purse for her wallet and showed Kim a picture. "Olly just started Kindy."

"Awwww…they're adorable," Kim gushed. By the look of the boys, Stella and Izzy had both elected to be artificially inseminated. Olly, the older boy, had Izzy's curly blonde hair and Liam had Stella's face. "My better half and I have a boy ourselves," Kim dug out her Kimmunicator and brought up a family photo taken at The Lotus Blades a few weeks ago. "Nicky, he's the youngest; the two troublemakers in the middle, those are our twins Emily and Zoe, and our oldest is the emotional teenager on the right is Gracie."

Kim could see the wheels turning in their heads. They saw Em's green hair, Gracie and Zoe's pale complexion…and the green tinted meta-human she married. Their eyes turned to her in unison, each pair the size of dinner plates. They both took a good look at the redhead seated next to them and…you REALLY had to love the sudden look of realization.

"Cr…CRICKEY…"

"You…you're…"

"We are SO buying the next round!"

The trio shared a good laugh, Izzy and Stella at their gushing and Kim at having such a good time hiding it. After downing the remainder of her ale, true to their word, Stella and Izzy had it immediately refilled. From there, the evening was a whirlwind of conversation. Stella and Izzy actually lived in Eden, New South Wales, where Izzy ran a medical practice. Stella had grown up in Johnsonville, north of Wellington, and had attended University of Sydney where they met. They were in Wellington for Stella's family reunion and had just come from a Wellington Hurricanes rugby game, hence the rugby sweaters they were wearing.

"So I guess you could say that Gracie was your little miracle?" Stella asked.

Most of the civilized world knew at least the basic story of Gracie's inception. Kim proceeded to give her new friends the whole story, beginning with Drakken's hair brained scheme to Bonnie Rockwaller's attempted kidnapping. Wow…when Kim thought about it, after fifteen years, it all seemed…well…kind of distant, almost as if it was one of the stories she'd wrote.

"Wait till we tell the boys that we had dinner with Kim BLOODY Possible," Izzy gushed, raising her glass in a toast.

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

"Gracie sweetie; time to get up."

Time? Man, what time WAS it? Gracie could remember pulling into the parking lot…somewhere…then…? Was there an elevator? Wow, she hadn't been so tired since the day after the church youth lock-in. She glanced at the alarm clock…nine in the morning. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and hauled herself up. Boy…she sure missed George right then. It just didn't feel quite right, waking up without her little buddy and partner in crime. But leaving him behind was the only way Gracie could be sure the band stayed on track.

"How long was I out?"

"A little over twelve hours or so," Mom answered, drying her hair with a fluffy white hotel towel. "You were dug in like a tick."

Gracie could never figure out how Mom and Momma managed to never be affected by jet lag or anything like that, no matter where they went. How did they flipping DO that? Gracie's stomach gave a gurgling rumble. She…wow…all of a sudden she realized she was VERY hungry. She made a beeline for the shower and a short time later, Mother and Daughter made their way out of the elevator into the lobby. Corina's was closed but they each had a full buffet at Artisan's built into the cost of the room. Mom got the pair a table and Gracie headed straight for the buffet with plate in hand. The smells wafting towards her…she almost felt like she was in those old cartoons where the smells made you levitate towards the food. So many choices! In the end, Gracie settled on Hot Smoked Salmon and Spinach on ciabatta toast with a small helping of grilled tomatoes. Mom decided on Eggs Florentine and a breakfast smoothie to drink.

"So Mom," Gracie asked in between bites. "What's on the itinerary today?"

"Well, we've got a quick meeting with a cake designer but after that I thought we'd do a little site seeing," Mom answered, swallowing a gulp of her smoothie. "I met some friends last night and they mentioned a popular idea. A couple of miles from here, there are several regions where _Lord of the Rings_, _The Hobbit, _and _Beren and Luthien_ were filmed. Sound good?"

Hmmmmm…that WOULD be cool. It seemed like every fantasy movie ever made ended up being filmed in New Zealand. "Cane we see Rivendell?"

"Rivendell and I really want to see where they shot the River Arindel," Mom confirmed, obviously loving the new look of excitement on Gracie's face. "Those statues from the Fellowship of the Ring are still standing. And I thought we could see the Shire and Edoras when we head up to Auckland in two days. First though," Mom glanced at her watch. "We've got a meeting with the cake designer in…45 minutes."

With their bellies full and their bodies dressed for an afternoon on the town, Mom and Gracie pulled out of the hotel parking lot and onto the street. Gracie was already learning to drive but this whole driving on the left thing was just plain trippy. How the heck was this supposed to work? Twice Gracie had been convinced that they were going to end up in a crash.

"You know why they drive on the left in all English countries?" Mom asked; cool as a cucumber as she made her way up the street. "In Old England, they rode their horses on the left to give them a full range of motion with their sword."

Gracie had never been so pleased to be getting OUT of a car when the car pulled to a stop outside "Olde English Pastry and Cakes".

Upon entering, Gracie was bombarded by a cavalcade of smells and aromas. Looking at all the displays and containers filled to the brim with culinary delights, she remembered the all the times she'd helped Momma bake things like this before. She'd been to bakeries she'd thought were very high class. But THIS place…man, this place almost felt more like a museum than a bakery. The moment she made a move to taste something, a security guard would likely leap out of nowhere, telling her to look but not touch.

"Now Gracie, sweetie," The owner of the place even had a receptionist. "Be prepared; the owner, Madame Lizzet, can be a little…I guess the post polite word is peculiar."

"She actually calls herself 'Madame'?" Gracie chuckled under her breath. "Wait a minute…'Lizzet'? If she's French, why is the bakery called 'Olde English'?"

"Ohhhhh just you wait," Mom heaved a sigh and turned to the receptionist. Gracie was definitely starting to feel a disturbance in the force.

Mother and daughter stood there in pounding silence for the better part of sixty seconds. Should…should she…say something or…or were they supposed to…wait until called?

"Oui? Oui madame," The receptionist answered into her headset. "Do you have an appointment with Madame?"

Mom gave her name and…well, they were subjected to even MORE waiting. Without warning, the doors burst open, startling Gracie so much that she jumped into a fighting stance.

"KIMBERLY DAHLING," Okay…did Mom accidentally lead her daughter into a parallel universe populated by clichés? The red beret? Those black and white striped socks and the black skirt? She reminded Gracie of Mindy Schultz, a particularly insufferable sophomore who thought that having a French great grandmother yet living every waking moment of your life in Middleton made you French as well. To add to the cliché, this "Madame Lizzet" approached Mom and kissed her on both cheeks. "It haz been far too long!"

"Indeed it has Lizzet," Boy, nobody could fake sincerity to an obvious nutcase like Mom could. It almost made Gracie feel proud. "Please allow me to introduce my daughter Grace Anne."

"Oh she iz zo beautiful," Gracie couldn't exactly hide her discomfort but the woman seemed thankfully oblivious to it. And what the heck was Mom playing at, calling her by her full name? This was definitely going down as one of the weirdest days in her life…and it was about to get worse. "Madame Lizzet" grabbed Gracie by the shoulders and kissed both her cheeks as well. Aaaaand there it was; now this was officially the weirdest day of her life.

"Thank you for squeezing us in on such short notice Lizzet," Mom thanked her as they were led into Lizzet's "office", an ornate Victorian desk situated in the middle of a fairly impressive kitchen.

"Iz my pleaaasure dahling," Lizzet breathed, taking a seat behind the desk. "I just finish a masterpiece for Danish Princess Wilhelmina and I say 'Lizzet MUST make cake for Kimberly and Shego's coming celebration, I say."

"So Mom, what kind of cake d…"

"NO Little Possible," Gracie jumped to her feet and slammed her hand down on the desk, quite a thunderous noise for such a small hand. "YOU don't know what you want. LIZZET know what you want. Come; we begin!"

"Uhhhhh…Mom?"

"Yes Muffin?"

"I…I'm scared."

"I know sweetie…but it will all be over soon."

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

"Where on God's green Earth did you meet that…woman?"

Kim could tell Gracie had been about to use the Possible family "F" word but had thankfully thought better of it and corrected herself. As a teenager, Kim had been against bullying as much as anyone when she was in school. But Shego…her childhood had been something out of the worst nightmare Kim could ever imagine living through; and high school sure as Hell didn't help. Had Shego not physically restrained her after telling Kim the stories of her high school experiences, Kim would've tracked down those bitches and beaten them to within an inch of their sanity. None of the children had ever demonstrated a single mean bone in their bodies but they were constantly taught that words, especially "freak", could indeed hurt worse than the hardest punch.

"Haha…uh…it was after Senor Senior Junior had a particularly hard break up. He and his ol' Pop tried to steal all of the best chefs' secret recipes, Senior for the usual reasons…and Junior so that he could eat his feelings away." Kim felt a chill go up her spine and shivered. "Ugh…Junior's 'heavy' phase; definitely not a pretty sight. Anyway, Lizzet was doing a showcase at one of her bakeries in Marseilles when they made a grab for her."

"Well France would've made more sense but what's she doing here in New Zealand?"

"Oh she's got a dozen bakeries all over the world," Kim answered, climbing into the car and starting it up. "Each one of them is tailored to suit the particular nation or region that it resides in. She spends a year and a half "creating" at each one."

"So…we really didn't have any choice in the matter if the wedding was going to be in New Zealand? 'Madame Lizzet' was going to make the cake?"

"I'm afraid so Muffin. But thank God that woman doesn't do catering."

They'd both had a fair amount of cake samples but Kim could hear Gracie's stomach rumble from the passenger seat, in anticipation of lunch. The clock showed it to be a little after eleven so Kim figured they could grab an early bite to eat. If memory served, there was a boardwalk down by the pier that was usually a lot of fun. Kim smiled as she remembered the time when she and Shego had spent their second anniversary at the vacation house in Melbourne and jetted over to Wellington for the day. Shego had blown ten dollars to win Kim a three dollar stuffed dolphin. By her guess, they were maybe twenty minutes out so Kim turned in that direction.

Mariner's Wharf was most definitely in full swing. Kim was luck to even find a parking space. Everywhere you looked, there seemed to be something going on or a hawker crying their wares.

"This place is spankin Mom," Gracie gasped, jumping out of the car without even opening the door.

"I thought we deserved a little fun after dealing with Lizzet," Kim smiled. Wow…Shego had close to the same look when they were here.

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

All in all, it was a very fun day. Mother and daughter had played a few games and won a few souvenirs for the Twins and Nicky. They'd enjoyed a few of the street performers, even finding a small Irish fiddle trio. After that, Kim and Gracie had managed to preview the two banquet halls and one of the churches Kim had selected. They'd even managed to see the Tolkien locations they'd wanted. They'd sampled some authentic Maori cuisine for dinner and now found themselves in the pool room of the Bolton, Kim luxuriating in the hot tub and Gracie doing laps in the main pool.

They'd get an early start tomorrow after they checked out and after visiting the last church, they'd fly straight to Auckland and get a preview of the locations there; all that left was the security inspection at GJ. With a little luck, she'd be home to ring in the New Year with Shego and a bottle of strawberry massage oil after the kids were in bed.

"Absence truly does make the heart grow fonder," Kim sighed to no one in particular. Opening her eyes, Kim checked to make sure that no one could hear her next words. "The moment we are alone, I am going to take you around the FLIPPING world Shego Possible."

_Author's Notes:_

_I had a lot of funning creating Madame Lizzet. She wasn't in my original draft but I think this works so much better. Though I made her French, I based her and her mannerisms on that of a middle-aged Zsa Zsa Gabor. Look for Kim's new rugby buddies Izzy and Stella to make an appearance later in the story when things get hot._


	6. Chapter 6

Betty Director heaved a great sigh as she took her seat at her desk and began nursing the first of what would inevitably be many cups of coffee. By December 29th, the yule tide revelry had past, Betty spending them with her new boyfriend Tom, and millions of people's minds shifting from visions of dancing sugar plums to the resolutions they would make and God willing actually stick to in the new year.

_Like hopefully making things work this time around_, Betty thought to herself. She was on the fast track to the wrong side of 40 and she knew it. Two failed marriages…more relationships crashed and burned than she could count…but through it all, some small part of her still held out hope that even now she could find Mr. Right and with a little luck could manage to hold on to him. Even she, the head of an international espionage organization, still desperately wanted someone to share her life with.

_I guess I'm just a big ol' softie at heart_, Betty chided herself, letting out an ironic laugh at herself. She activated the table screen on her desk and a holographic projection of Cecil appeared.

"Ma'am, Assistant Director Krinski is requesting a few minutes of your time. He says it's urgent."

Andrew Krinski? Deputy Head of Personnel? Odd; hadn't Corin already submitted the final report on the possible targets for WEE to hit? Still, Andy saw his time as very expensive and certainly wouldn't throw it about. If he needed a word with her, it had to be important. "Send him in Cecil."

"Good morning ma'am," Andy Krinski entered and snapped to attention. Like herself, Andrew Krinski had been a prodigy within his native England's military community. A fully commissioned Navy Lieutenant at 19, he spent six years as Royal Navy Intelligence's top profiler and had quickly been courted by Global Justice afterwards, in fact being finally recruited by then Director of European Operations Betty Director. Always the stoic English Naval Officer, even after seven years in Global Justice Personnel and today in simple blue fatigues, his salute was still crisp and proper. "Thank you for seeing me on such short notice ma'am."

"No trouble at all," Andy certainly wouldn't have taken a seat without being offered one by his superiors so Betty waved to an open chair next to her desk. "I thought Director Jindal had already submitted the final personnel report. Did you have something to add?"

Okay…even before Andy spoke, Betty could tell this was something bad. Andy was having trouble even looking her in the eyes…and this was a man who hid from absolutely nothing and no one. He was one of the few people Betty knew who actually wanted to bring dueling BACK to the British Navy. "Ma'am…I…" Failing for words, one of only a handful of occasions in the years that Betty had known him, he simply handed the tablet he'd had a death grip on to his superior. "We've got a problem, a very serious one."

Betty began scrolling through the data. The personnel reports from Auckland, Bangkok, and Jeju Si? She and Corin had agreed that of all the potential targets, these three were likely the largest. And Corin had certainly done her a solid by being extra thorough with Auckland. So why was…wait…no…there was no…no WAY that he could've missed this!

"Ma'am, I found four potential and one confirmed, the confirmed being at the Auckland sight," Krinksi breathed, rubbing his temples. "I've seen the final report that he presented to you. The moment I found these flags, I went straight to the director and he gave me his word they would go straight to you. On an impulse, I wanted to double check a few names last night and…I discovered my names missing. When I went to confront the director about it, he…his office and apartment were deserted and every hard drive was stripped from the computer. The only conclusion I can come to…Ma'am, please forgive me for the rashness of this statement but…"

"The bastard betrayed us," Betty gasped. How…how could she have missed this…have misjudged Corin Jindal so severely? She'd known him for years and…DAMN it! If it cost her her last breath, she was going to hunt this SOB down to the ends of the Earth and back again. Looking at the profiles, each of these was indeed a potential security threat. Last was the one that Andy had flagged as confirmed and…Betty's breath caught in her throat. She felt as if she'd just been kicked in the chest. No…Dammit, please GOD not this! If she was going to salvage anything from this, she'd have to move fast.

"Cecil," Betty barked, bringing up her holo screen. "I want Corin Jindal's office and apartment completely sealed. As of right now, there is a capture order on him! Lethal force is authorized but if at all possible, I want him taken ALIVE! And get Shego Possible here as soon as you can!"

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

Boy, Kim sure had to give props to whoever it was at R&amp;D who chose where the bases were built. The scenery up here was breathtaking, even by New Zealand standards. As Kim brought the hovercraft down towards the landing pad, she had to take one last long look. Breathtaking; it truly was breathtaking. Though admittedly, the four anti-aircraft turrets did detract slightly from the natural beauty of the place. The craft hit the tarmac with a gently thump. Now…vacation was over; time to go to work.

"Alright sweetie," Kim began as she unbuckled her safety harness and climbed out. "Do we need to go over the ground rules one more time?"

"No ma'am," Gracie replied, trying to sound as respectful as humanly possible. "I will stay by your side, assisting when asked, then…if I'm a good girl we get to go see the mech suits?"

"That's my girl," Kim smiled. For Heaven's sake, why did Gracie have to be so aware of just how adorable she could be? Yes, they would go see the blasted suits.

Both Mother and daughter changed into the pairs of grey GJ fatigues they'd packed and marched down the ramp towards the awaiting aide at the bottom. The man, a Lieutenant by the insignia on his shoulders, snapped to attention and stood at ease when Kim returned the salute. "Welcome to Ft. Defiance ma'am. I'm Lt. Merkel. I'm to take you directly to Base Commander Weiss; if you'd both follow me please?"

Kim and Gracie fell into line behind the young Lieutenant. Like most bases that Kim had set foot on, and there had been plenty, it appeared to be a hive of activity, a wonderful example of organized chaos that gave "Kim-ness" a warm fluffy feeling inside. Everybody seemed to know what their job was. They past a variety of security checkpoints but a quick flash of their credentials allowed the pair to breeze through with hardly any wait. Before they knew it, they were in the plush waiting room of the Base Commander's office.

Lt. Merkel knocked and a female voice called for them to enter.

Stepping into the base commander's office…wow. Kim felt like she'd just been yanked out of reality and stuffed in a Patrick O'Brian novel. This was the epitome of a sea captain's quarters. If the voice hadn't have been female, she'd swear "Lucky Jack" Aubrey would be seated in the chair behind the desk; which brought Kim's focus to the woman actually inhabiting the office chair. Commander Weiss looked to be a few years Kim's senior with shoulder length blonde hair in a classic military cut. She looked to be a scant five foot two but she definitely had that mongoose vibe going for her. She may be short but she had enough spunk and energy to take on someone twice her size. She rose from her seat and immediately went to greet her newly arrived guests.

"Base Commander Amelia Weiss," She announced, reaching out to shake Kim's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you Agent Possible. Your reputation definitely precedes you."

"An equal pleasure Commander Weiss," Kim replied, having no trouble mimicking the friendly attitude of the Commander. "This is my daughter Grace. Think of her as…"

"I'm kinda like her Padawan Learner," Gracie interrupted, taking the offered handshake.

Did she and Shego EVER miss an opportunity? "And please forgive that clichéd passion. She and her Momma never miss a chance to inflict that on me and Gracie's sisters are just as bad."

"No apologies necessary," Commander Weiss replied, unable to hide her obvious amusement at the familial banter. "And please call me Mia. One of our consulting engineers here speaks very highly of you both."

Someone knew them here? Who did Kim AND Gracie know that would be consulting on a project like this? "Somebody here knew we were coming?"

"Oh don't worry. It came up during dinner with my staff a few weeks ago. One of my officers had mentioned that she'd heard you were on some sort of tour in the northern island. I beg your forgiveness but he wanted to look you up himself this evening," Commander Weiss returned to her desk and took a seat. "On to the matter at hand; Doctor Director was a little vague on exactly why you're here. What exactly can my people do for you?"

"Yes, sorry about all the secrecy," Kim filed the mystery person away for later use. As far as she knew, Betty was still running personnel searches. "How long would it take you to assemble your senior command?"

"Maybe twenty minutes?"

"Good; if you could do that as soon as possible? My report from the Director concerns the entire base."

Betty had said that Amelia Weiss didn't miss much. She was definitely picking up on the undertones of Kim's brief statement. The commander summoned Lt. Merkel and issued orders to call the deputy commander, chief of staff, security chief, and communications officer in for a meeting.

"Forgive me Agent Possible but…what's going on?"

"Well, my hope is…nothing."

True to her word, the four officers entered the Commander Weiss's office exactly twenty minutes later, Deputy Commander Andre Horowitz, Chief of Staff Stephanie Hoyer, Security Major Clark Crown, and Communications Chief Barbara Klinger. Maybe it was the wedding planner mode but Kim had to fight the urge to sigh contentedly at the sight of such a well-oiled machine.

"Now we can begin," Kim stood up from her chair. "Intel believes that WEE might be gearing up for a big operation in the area and Auckland is ruled one of the likely targets. At the request of Dr. Director, I'm here to perform an onsite security inspection; one, maybe two days."

Major Crown nodded several times as if he were running through what she'd just said. "Well Agent Possible, I can assure you that our security is first rate. But rest assured my personnel will assist you in any way they can."

"As will the rest of us," Chief Hoyer agreed, looking at everyone else.

"Thank you," Kim smiled and began assigning tasks. "To start out with Chief Hoyer, the Director has the Personnel Department stateside running background checks but I'd like you to take a handful of your most trustworthy and perform checks here as well. Klinger, I'd like you to do the same with the base systems. Try and have both reports to me by this evening. Commander Horowitz, Major Clark, my daughter, and I will perform a thorough check of all defensive systems and equipment on the base."

"Aye ma'am," came several replies.

"I'll have my aides prepare quarters for you and your daughter," Commander Weiss offered, rising from her seat. "The officers and I dine at 7 pm. It'd be a pleasure if you'd join us."

"Absolutely," Kim nodded and shook hands with the other officers. "Gracie, could you please get our things squared away and meet me out front as soon as you're done?"

"Yes ma'am."

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

"Hi girls."

Shego waved to the twins as they skated around the rink hand in hand while Shego attempted to lace up her skates and bounce Nicky on her knee at the same time. Abby had requested a little "me" time, free from her "pampering staff" today, likely encompassing a Star Trek movie marathon followed by a few hours on the range with her new TAR-21 assault rifle and the .357 Colt Python Shego had gotten her for Christmas. With memories of both Kimmie's pregnancies still ringing in her ears, the prospect of a hormonally imbalanced pregnant woman with an arsenal of firearms was very stirring motivation to get the kids out of there for the day. Wow…until recently, she never really realized how lucky she was that it took such a huge argument to even make Kimmie carry a knife. And an afternoon spent ice skating with her kids was something that she definitely didn't have to think twice about.

Nicky spotted his big sisters acting silly on the ice and started babbling his approval, trying to get out and join the fun. "Oh I don't think so little buddy. You'd better stick with Momma for now." With one last effort, Shego managed to tie her skates and secure Nicky in the snuggly strapped to her chest.

_Wow_, Shego marveled at Nicky's efforts to struggle towards the ice. _This little wiggle worm really wants to get out there. We might have a hockey player on our hands._

She'd barely set foot on the ice when the Shegophone chimed. She pulled it up and…son of a Balosar! It would HAVE to be Global Justice! Were they deliberately watching and waiting for when she was just about to have a little fun? Wait a minute…Betty's personal work line? That…that didn't happen very often.

"This is Shego Possible."

"Shego! Thank God," Betty gasped through the receiver. "I need you in my office as soon as you possibly can."

"Betty, what's going on?"

There was a long pause. "I…don't think it's a good idea to discuss this over the line. Where are you?"

"I'm at the ice rink with the kids," So much for a fun family afternoon (even with only part of the family); inevitably Shego knew that she'd end up accepting this. Who could she get to take the kids? Abby was taking time off so…the only other options were Ron or Mom and Dad. Mom and Dad were closer so that would probably be best. "Give me an hour?"

Betty agreed so she immediately called up Dad. "Hey; what's up daughter of mine?"

"Hey Dad; listen, something's come up and I need a favor. I'm at the ice rink with the girls and I got called in. Could you come and pick them up?"

"Sure thing sweetheart; I'm just puttering around the house. Can you give me…fifteen minutes?"

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

"Betty, what's going on?"

That had been one of the longest hours of Shego's life. It hadn't dawned on her that this could potentially involve Kim and Gracie until Shego had gotten in the car. Neither Kim nor Gracie were pick up and from there…it seemed like Shego had somehow thought of every potential thing that could've gone wrong all at once and felt the stress amplified by ten. It didn't help that Betty had called her using her private work line. Thank goodness for Wade and Minnie. Wade could safely assure her that her wife and daughter were currently in Anglican Diocese of Auckland, talking with the local priest. But the fact that Kim and Gracie weren't currently in trouble didn't mean that they wouldn't be in danger later.

"Okay Shego," Betty rose from her chair as the plasma slinging meta-human burst into her office. "I want to stress that this isn't a direct line to Gracie and Kim but…"

Shego's hands burst into an eerie green flame and she took a step towards Betty. "Betty…WHAT is going on? You pull me away from a day with my children, you send my wife and my oldest daughter to a base that is a possible target for an international evil organization, and I want to know why I'm here."

Thankfully Betty took the point and activated the holo-projector in the center of the room. The focus was on Corin Jindal, head of Global Justice Personnel according the file. Age 48, been with GJ for close to twenty years…what was the point of showing her this? "My deputy head of Personnel brought this to my attention this morning." Shego had only ever seen Betty fix a glare that severe on her brother and even then only when he was being a SERIOUS pain. "Ever since the intelligence pattern emerged, I've had Personnel running intense background checks on all of the target facilities, looking for any potential threats. Director Jindal's initial report showed nothing seriously out of the ordinary…that is until the deputy provided me with the real report."

"'Real' report?" So GJ had a traitor in their midst?

"There's a lethal capture order out for him as we speak. That's not the problem though," Betty pressed few keys shifting the image. "As you know, I'm the only one who can bring Team Possible in for a mission…but what you don't know is the same goes for the rest of your family. Nobody can bring Kim's brothers, your brothers, even Kim's parents in for anything without my authorization."

The bottom was beginning to fall out of Shego's stomach. She'd talked to all of her brothers at Christmas. Everyone else had been at the family Christmas party…except for Jim. Jim was supposed to be consulting in Australia but…what if he'd somehow been gotten to…? Oh she could RING Sheldon Director's neck!

Without warning, Betty's aide burst into the office, running directly through the projection of Jim's forged consultation approval. "Forgive me ma'am, Agent Possible; I just received confirmation a few moments ago. We've got him."

Neither woman needed him to elaborate any further. Both were out the door with the aide in tow. Never breaking her stride, Betty continued with the briefing. "The only reason Jim Possible was flagged was because the consultation wasn't authorized by me. Acting Director Krinski flagged Jim as well as possible threats at three other possible targets. No matter what the target, I'm putting our security regiment in Melbourne on full alert. I've got one of our battlecruisers enroot from our East Asian fleet and called in a favor with the Americans, bringing in two destroyers. So help me, if Sheldon even TRIES to make a move, he'll face Hell."

Okay…so not really any reason to fret yet. The hovercraft was equipped with every defensive system Shego could put in it. If the shit hit the fan, Kim could be in and out with Jim and Gracie before they could even blink. Kim…Kim was simply Kim. Her faith in her wife's abilities was bone deep. She had absolutely no reason to worry. She and Ron had managed to damage Sheldon's pride once, now it was her wife's turn. But somewhere in this complex was the man who could tell Shego exactly what her wife would be facing if anything.

"Betty, give me five minutes alone with him and he'll be singing like a soprano."

"Uh…we'll see Shego," Betty replied, trying not to let Shego see the humor in her face. "Will should be onsite in two minutes about two minutes. I'll send him first and you in later. Maybe we can stagger him," Betty grabbed Shego by the shoulder and stopped her up short. "NO plasma bolts to the cameras this time. Dramatic effect is one thing but we can't afford to keep renovating our interrogation rooms."

Betty WOULD mention that to her! She had a temper; Shego had always known an accepted that. Kimmie was always so great about defusing her wife when she both literally and metaphorically got hot. But…she could keep a handle on herself. Right now information from this SOB was paramount.

"I'll try to control myself."

Deputy Director Will Du was indeed waiting for them outside the interrogation room. The once adversaries and now colleagues nodded a wordless greeting to each other and turned to the two way mirror. Looking at the man she presumed to be Corin Jindal, she couldn't help but be impressed. By the look of him, this guy hadn't gone down easy. His uniform was in shreds and he'd have one heck of a shiner by morning.

"How would you like to proceed Director?"

"Will, I want you to take the lead on this one," Betty replied, her gaze firmly fixed on the prisoner. "I'll send Shego in a few minutes later, see if we can't throw him off balance."

Shego turned back to face Jindal. Something about all of this seemed a little odd, and she wasn't thinking about Jindal. Betty seemed unusually flustered over this incident…and Shego didn't think it was because she'd misjudged Jindal for all these years. When Shego had first arrived, it had almost been like Betty was trying to convince herself that Kim and Gracie weren't in danger. This woman made decisions on a daily basis that sent men and women to certain death but...well, Betty had said time and again how she looked at Gracie like a niece. Was it really so hard to believe that the Possible family actually meant something special to Betty?

"Betty…what's wrong? And don't tell me that it is Jindal."

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

"Betty, would you please tell me what's bothering you?"

Once again, Shego had to give Jindal credit. The SOB had lasted a lot longer than she had expected. But in the end, like all the others, he'd cracked and started spilling his guts. It had to be being interrogated by a woman who could turn you into a smoldering pile of ash with a snap of her fingers that crumpled the will of even the most hardened mercenary. The only thing of any use that they'd been able to pull out was that Jindal had been under very specific orders to place Jim Possible in the Auckland base. The engineers currently on the project HAD been hitting a few road blocks with incorporating the military software into the suits and Jim COULD likely help them overcome them. But one way or another, Shego's brother-in-law was neck deep in trouble.

Unbuckling her seatbelt now that the plane had taken off, Betty heaved a sigh and moved to the bar in the cabin, pouring herself a Scotch. If the roles were flipped, Betty would want to know why Shego was technically hovering over her family's shoulder so by all rights, Shego deserved to know her rationale. But if she was going to really talk about it, scotch would be inevitable. "When you and Kim wound up…together, you know I was…well skeptical probably wouldn't be putting it strongly enough. But through it all…you two…from what I've seen, you two truly do have a romance for the ages, one that comes along maybe once in a generation," Betty downed a gulp of her drink and let it settle. "And then you look at me. I've saved people, organized massive coordinated assaults that determined the fate of the world…and look what it cost me? Two failed marriages and numerous ex-boyfriends."

Wow…this was a side of Betty Director that Shego had never expected to see. She'd always assumed that Betty had dated and why not? But she'd always felt like Betty was one of those that was married to her job. Her social life had never really been a topic of much conversation between them. Now…now Shego thought she knew why Betty was taking this so hard. Had she known the emotions this would dig up for her friend…Shego couldn't help mentally berating herself, giving herself one hell of a dressing down.

Betty gazed out the window and downed the remainder of her drink. "I care about both of you too much to ever let either of you…end up like me."

Damn; where she'd been berating herself before…now she just hated herself. If anyone in the world could relate to feeling like you were completely alone and unwanted in the world, it would've been her. She got up from her seat and went straight for Betty, pulling her friend into a hug like she'd done with Kimmie during her wife's bouts of self-doubt. "Betty, I…I'm so sorry. I should've just kept my mouth shut." Thank goodness Betty returned the hug. My God, Betty was strong willed. Right then, if the roles had been reversed, Shego would've been weeping uncontrollably into her friend's shoulder.

"It's okay Shego," Betty sighed, thoroughly grateful for the support. "I'm like you. If I didn't want you to know, I wouldn't have told you."

"That still doesn't excuse it," Shego objected, giving her friend one last squeeze of support before letting her go. "Thank you for trying to protect my family. God bless you for that. But enough of this crap about you being alone!" Betty was quickly shooed back to her chair and Shego snagged a pair of child wine coolers from the bar. "I've got the PERFECT guy for you!"

As the wine cooler was literally shoved into her hands, Betty couldn't help but laugh. Here were two trained and seasoned international espionage agents, what some might consider two of the deadliest women in the world, headed towards a potential clash with the forces of evil…and one was trying to set the other up on a blind date like a couple of gal pals on a girls' night out. Betty had seen Kim and Shego together on missions, romantic even in the direst circumstances. Shego Possible, the woman Betty would've given anything sixteen years ago to have locked up and permanently behind bars was indeed a deep and complicated woman.

"Well…there's already kind of a guy who…"

"Ooooooh, come on girl," Shego gushed, popping the top on her wine cooler. "Dish; don't leave anything out! Is he cute?"

"Well…his name is Tom Van Dyke and yes he's VERY cute. He owns an ad agency in Upperton. It's only been a few weeks but…I REALY like him."

"Oh we are SO double dating when this is over!"

_Author's Notes:_

_What use is having it all if you don't have someone to share it with?_


	7. Chapter 7

Ever since Shego and Ron had led the raid to destroy the WEE R&amp;D facility in the Rocky Mountains when Kim was pregnant with the twins, EM resistant tech had spread like wildfire throughout GJ. Especially in high profile areas such as Auckland, the building, computers, even the handheld radios they carried were specifically shielded from electromagnetic interference. It was one of Global Justice's closest guarded secrets, the process for shielding something so small. Even Kim herself didn't know their process. After they'd failed to steal the technology, WEE had been trying to duplicate the process. By all reports though, they were several years behind with several road blocks yet to come.

That made the base's EM defense systems Kim's first priority on her and Gracie's inspection. Common sense and basic military strategy dictated that the first objective in any attack was to disable the target's defenses if at all possible. Shego was really the ideal person to check base-wide systems and spot any backdoors or wormholes but Kim was no slouch. As far as she could see, the system was sound, the firewall was intact and no clear way to disable it, at least none that she could spot.

The defense turrets themselves were manned practically non-stop. 3 4-person teams manned each of the twin rail guns on eight-hour shifts. Gracie had thoroughly enjoyed devising a few challenging test scenarios for each of the crews. Commander Weiss and Major Crown certainly weren't blowing smoke. As far as Kim and Gracie could tell, their external security measures were top rate.

_All the hard stuff is officially over_, Kim thought to herself, heaving a contented sigh as she swiped her security card to gain access to the research facility itself. True to her word, Gracie had in fact been a VERY good girl and had actually been a tremendous help. So true to Kim's word, Gracie had earned the reward of a preview of the mech suits. More than that though, Kim was very curious about this alleged engineer that seemed to know her so well. She'd been over nearly every inch of the base except for the research facility. A lot of the tech people knew her by reputation, either as the female James Bond as the media sometimes referred or as the author of what the literary world referred to as the best military science fiction novel series since David Weber's _Honor Harrington_. But not a one of them knew her on personal terms.

The doors slid open and Mother and Daughter were greeted by a spectacle of mechanized military wonder. Betty's drawings had been very accurate. Kim wasn't the aerial enthusiast that her wife and daughter were by any means but the fully assembled suit was VERY impressive. She turned to her daughter and…HA! Gracie may as well have been a kid in a candy store. Honestly, when Kim was fourteen her eyes only got that big for a boy band. Gracie…boy, Gracie would have the boys eating out of her hand when she reached adulthood.

"Now muffin, this is a very big place. I think you'd better hold my hand so you don't get lost," Kim couldn't resist getting that little jibe in. After her and Shego's little field trip to the wilds of Northern Ontario, Gracie had always been a beacon of safety and caution around equipment.

"So not funny Mom," Gracie sighed, rolling her eyes and batting away Kim's hand.

"Ooooooh, look at the emotional teenager," Kim shot back. "Way too cool to hold her mother's hand."

"Darn right I am," Gracie chuckled. "I love you Mom but there are some things that just aren't acceptable to do with your parents in public, at least not in teenage society. I mean, would YOU have held Grandma's hand when you were fourteen?"

Okay, Kim couldn't really argue with that. When she was Gracie's age, practically being seen in the same room with Mom and Dad was enough to make her cheeks glow in embarrassment. Sure, the square dancing, costumed bowling leagues, and couples mime classes didn't really help matters any. But Kim still liked to think that she and Shego were doing SOMETHING right on that parental front.

A few of the scientists and the engineers gave the teenager in the testing facility a sideways glance or a raised eyebrow but one look at the older redhead, quite obviously an agent, convinced them to let it go. Kim and Gracie were admiring one of the completed prototypes without any weapons attached when the chest plate lifted up revealing…what the HELL?

"Boo!" barked James Possible Jr. Contented that he'd surprised them, he detached himself from the control harness and climbed down, pulling his big sister and his niece into a bear hug. "I was wondering when you guys would show up."

What…what…what was Jim doing here? Did…Betty know about this? And if so…why did she keep it from her? She…she WOULDN'T do that. Betty would've…wait a minute! This base was a possible target for WEE…and her little brother, a respected and wealthy engineer just happened to be on base…no; her kim-sense was tingling. Something didn't seem right here.

"Wow…the legendary Kim Possible rendered speechless by the appearance of her beloved and oh so charming younger brother," Jim chuckled, letting the two women go. "I honestly never thought I'd see THAT in my lifetime."

"Mom? Mom, what's wrong?"

Oh…what WAS wrong? She needed to talk to Betty, SOMEBODY who would have answers.

"Agent Possible to Communications please. Agent Possible to Communications."

Oh what fresh Hell was this?

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

"We received the transmission a few moments ago. GJS Trafalgar, a battle cruiser enroot to our location, reports heavy contact with unmarked cruiser."

This was it! The whole time…it had been Auckland the whole time and…DAMN IT! Kim's own daughter and her younger brother were right in the middle of this!

"Commander, we've got a priority transmission coming across the bay from Sydney. They're requesting a conference with Agent Possible."

Commander Weiss gave the order and Kim's heart leapt as an image of Betty and Shego materialized on the main screen.

"Oh thank God," Kim gasped, unable to hide her relief at the sight of her wife. "Where are you guys?"

"We just touched down at Sydney when we got the report about the Trafalgar being attacked. We're prepping a security regiment to head to your position as soon as we can. Are you and Gracie okay?"

"As good as can be expected Eme," Kim replied, trying to reassure herself as much as her wife. "Listen; there's more. Jim is…"

"We know," Betty interrupted, looking thoroughly guilt ridden. "That was what tipped us off in the first place. Kim, you have to believe me that I didn't know he was there…he wasn't even supposed to BE there!"

"Betty, I…it's okay…wait…what do you meant that he wasn't supposed to be here?"

"We uncovered a mole at GJ, the Director of Personnel himself," Shego explained. "He forged Betty's access codes to get Jim authorized to consult on the project. We think WEE wants Jim as much as they want one of the mech suits."

But how were they going to get them, Jim or the mech suits? Try as she might, and she'd run every plausible scenario for attacking the base, Kim couldn't find a single scenario that made sense. WEE may be a merry band of second rate mercenary misfits and their leader/employer may be one big inferiority complex liberally seasoned with extreme sibling rivalry but even they wouldn't be foolhardy enough to mount an attack on a target without a reasonable chance of success. So what was their game plan?

"Okay…Betty, I have absolutely no idea what their play is here," Boy was that hard to admit. "This place is secure six ways to Sunday so…"

"There's nothing for it the. Commander Weiss," Betty focused on the woman to Kim's left. "Activate Condition Black. Bring all crews to full readiness in preparation for an attack. With any luck, four hundred commandoes will be dropping in before anything dire happens."

Weiss barked a few quick orders and a siren began blaring, calling for everyone to report to battle stations. Kim couldn't shake the feeling and went to check on the defense systems one last time. Their lives…GRACIE'S life depended on them!

"Commander, what's the status of my daughter?" Shego asked.

"I believe she's in the testing grounds with her Uncle, Mrs. Possible," Commander Weiss replied. "Rest assured it's the safest place in the area."

Without warning, the transmission blinked out. The sudden quiet pulled Kim back towards the screen as if yanked by a leash.

"Run diagnostics immediately," Commander Weiss barked. "Get the transmission back!"

No…they wouldn't get the transmission back. Dollars to donuts WEE was jamming any and all communications out of the base. It was directly out of their playbook. So…this was it. But WHERE were they coming from?

Agent Possible, I've got something on radar here," One of the techs piped up. "I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking at." Kim marched over and looked at the radar screen. "It appeared just a moment ago, bearing 191 and has been drastically increasing speed since. If their speed keeps increasing at this rate, I put them ten to fifteen minutes out."

Bearing 191…the direction of the Trafalgar attack; but…at that bearing, they would be heading right at the solid rock cliff face that the base was built on. Were they planning to climb? The tech brought up the radar signature, not one that Kim could readily recognize. Definitely too big for a pleasure craft, too small for an attack craft; that little feeling in the pit of her stomach was telling Kim that it was some kind of lone amphibious assault vehicle.

"Is the vessel in range of the sensor buoys?"

"Just barely ma'am," The tech instantly began making the keystrokes, anticipating Kim's thoughts. "It'll be a little rough but I think I can get an image."

Ever so slowly, the image began to materialize. Certainly no amphibious vehicle that Kim had ever seen…and one she suddenly wished she hadn't seen. The image was indeed rough but rough as it was, Kim was still able to recognize a Hench Co Model 79 laser enhanced terrestrial drill mounted on the front of the vessel.

_By the Grace of God and a good sharp stick! They are actually going to TUNNEL into the facility? The slim design of the vessel would be perfect to slide through a cave or tunnel! Sheldon Director, I'd tip my hat to you if I didn't want to strangle you even more._

"Commander, take a look at this."

Kim could see the wheels turning in the older officer's mind, arriving at the same inevitable conclusion. While the Commander completed the same mental journey Kim had just been on, Kim began doing some reevaluations of their strategy. This was now officially a delaying action. WEE had been unusually clever thus far and Kim thought it was a reasonable assumption that they had enough troops in that vehicle to put up a fight. The base's best hope was to try to delay them until Shego and Betty got here with the cavalry. Now was the time where her Kim-ness, her obsession with and attention to detail paid off."

"What are you thinking?" Commander Weiss inquired, noticing Kim's determined gaze out the window. "We hold them off until the Director gets here with reinforcements?"

"But how best to do it?" Kim agreed, speaking more for her benefit than to anyone in particular. "The defense turrets are designed for aerial targets or ships so they're out of the question. I think we've got one good choice here. Commander, you take Alpha Company to the cliff face ASAP. Try to slow them down. When they decrease speed to start drilling open up with everything you've got. I'll take Bravo Company and secure the testing grounds. If they get by you, pull your troops back to the testing grounds and we'll make it our last stand."

While Commander Weiss began issuing orders, Kim pulled aside Major Crown and began explaining the worst case scenario. WEE's primary targets were Jim and one of the mech suits. Thank God for small mercies; the vessel didn't look like it was large enough to stow a mech suite or at least stow it before they could be stopped. Major Crown agreed and ventured that short of a suit, their likely target was to steal the hard drives.

"Okay Major, here's what we'll do," They were pressed for time but if they acted now, they could just about do it. "Give the order to start pulling the hard drives. Anything related to the mech project, anything that can compromise GJ, pull it and see to it that it is stored in my craft. If the fight turns south, my daughter will fly everything out of the base and rendezvous with the Directory in Sydney."

Major Crown barked a command into his radio. Thankfully the jamming field only suppressed communications out of the base and not within it. Content that his orders would be carried out, Major Crown turned to Kim. "All due respect to your daughter Agent Possible, but is it wise trusting something like this to a 14 year old? My security can handle things here. Surely you would…"

"Let me stop you right there major. At 14, my daughter already has more combat flight time than someone twice her age. She piloted an F22 Raptor during the Montreal Affair; she's survived a jet crash in the Canadian wilderness and walked away clean."

Speaking of, if they were going to make this work, she'd better get down there and actually fill her daughter in on the plan.

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

This…this wasn't at all like she thought it would be. Every time Gracie had been on a mission with Mom or Momma, she'd had a couple of hundred pounds of aircraft surrounding her. When your enemies had to get by an M61 Vulcan Gatling gun, you tended to have a warm and fuzzy sense of security. But now…now Gracie was very aware of their situation. A Possible or no, she was a 14 year old in the middle of a base that was about to be attacked by who knows what. Was Mom this nervous when she was just starting out? But…she could do this! She WOULD get used to this. She was heir apparent to Team Possible and she would NOT turn into some kind of simpering milksop. If Mom was ever going to trust her in the field or take her seriously, if Gracie was ever going to prove that she was ready to go on missions next year, now was her chance not just to prove it to her parents but to herself as well.

"Nervous kiddo?"

"Uh…man; is it that obvious Uncle Jim?"

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with being a little nervous," Uncle Jim patted her on the back and took a seat beside her. "When your Mom and I were younger, your Grandma always said it was better to by edgy before a big job or project. It keeps you focused."

"I just…I just…"

"Gracie, remember that your Mom, the Great Kim Possible, really just fell into this accidentally. At your age, she was looking for babysitting jobs, not extractions or retrievals." Uncle Jim pulled her close. "Gracie, you are so young. You've got forever and a day to decide if this is really what you want to do. I know being an international singing sensation may not be as ultra-glamorous as a super spy but all that truly matters is that you're doing something that makes you happy. That ESPECIALLY matters to your Moms."

Mom always told such unbelievable horror stories about growing up with Uncles Jim and Tim but…nah. Stories or no, Uncle Jim always knew just how to make her feel better. Here was one grown up she had absolutely no problem giving a hug in public and she elected to demonstrate exactly that right this second.

"Ah don't worry about it kiddo. What are favorite uncles for?"

Gracie was about to shoot back a jibe about him having pretty stiff competition and her not being that easy to buy when one of the other engineers hauled him up and informed him they'd been ordered to start pulling the hard drives from the computers and the suits themselves. A short time later, Mom burst in looking for Gracie.

"What's up Mom?"

"I've got a mission for you sweetie," Mom got straight to the point and pulled Gracie to her feet. "It's likely to get a little messy in here in a few minutes. I want you in the hovercraft. We're loading all of the hard drives inside. If things get really bad, you need to fly to Sydney and meet up with your Momma."

Mom…Mom wanted her to…leave her behind? "But…but what about you? What about Uncle Jim?"

"Uncle Jim is going in another craft. I have to help defend the suits, keep WEE from getting any…"

"Mom, are you CRAZY?" Mom…Mom really expected her to…to leave her behind? "I…I can't leave, not without you!"

Mom pulled her aside down an empty hallway. "Gracie, if I tell you to, that is exactly what you need to do." Gracie opened her mouth to object but was quickly silenced. Young lady, this is without a doubt the most difficult lesson you will ever have to learn. Sometimes…sometimes you have to put the mission first. It sucks, it's massively unfair…but it has to be done. If I'm taken prisoner, my best hope is for you and Momma to come and rescue me, which I have absolute faith that you'll do."

She…Gracie didn't know if she…if she could do this. How could she leave Mom behind? What was she saying; how could she leave AYONE behind?

"Gracie," Mom took her by the shoulders and looked her in the face. "What did General MacArthur say when he left the Philippines?"

"I…I shall return."

"And that's what I need you to do sweetie," Mom pulled her into a hug. "I need you to be my General MacArthur."

Gracie blinked and suddenly realized that they were outside, right next to the hovercraft. She…she'd been really locked inside her own head. The last thing she knew was Mom grabbing her by the shoulders and…she hadn't even realized that they were moving.

"Gracie, you're the only one that I trust with this."

"Trust"; Mom just HAD to use tht word. She…she wasn't sure if she could…"I…I'll wait as long as I can Mom."

"Everything's going to be okay sweetie," Mom gave her another hug. "Ol' Mom's still got a few tricks up her sleeve. Now, run the start-up sequence. I give the word, wheels up!"

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

"Kim? KIM?" Nonononono…what happened!?

"Running diagnostics now ma'am."

Please God…Shego needed to get out there! That was her wife and daughter out there and all she could do was just sit here like a slug. She couldn't do anything and she HATED that feeling. If she had to, she'd steal GJ transport and fly to…NO! She had to keep her head straight, had to keep it together. If she was going to be of any use, she couldn't be a wife and mother right now. The Shegophone chimed, pulling her out of that very dangerous train of thought. Wade and Minnie; they'd know what to do! They'd have the answer.

"Minnie…we just lost communications. Tell me…tell me my girls are okay."

"It's okay Girl," Minnie assured. "Kim and Gracie are still okay. Wade's managed to hack a WEE satellite and we think we know how they're going to get in."

"Hang on; I'm gonna put you on the big screen."

Shego fixed the phone into the USB station. Almost immediately an image of some kind of attack boat materialized and began rotating.

"Alright Minnie; what exactly are we looking at?"

"It's a heavily modified version of their nautical sapper ship," Minnie explained. "This pointed tip on the bow is actually a Hench Co laser enhanced terrestrial drill. Auckland is on a relatively small island and the base is built on a solid granite cliff so GJ intelligence never really considered tunneling to be a potential security threat and logically so. You'd have picked them up before they ever got close. But this…this has to be a prototype specifically designed for this objective."

"Okay then, I see how they plan to get in," Shego murmured, taking in all aspects of the vessel. "But the thing pops up in the middle of the base…how's it going to leave the island? You put enough firepower in the base and the ship's a pile of scrap inside a few minutes. Or is this meant to be a suicide mission?"

"Well…that's the VERY interesting thing," Minnie sighed. "According to my hubbie's scans…this thing has been even FURTHER modified to allow for flight once it comes out of the ground."

A wave of silence descended over the CIC room. It…flight…drill…WHAT!? Shego could barely believe her ears. This was the kind of half-baked hodgepodge of an invention that Drakken would come up with and would reliably blow up in the blue nerd's face. Betty's "older" brother was only marginally better than Shego's former associate but still. Shego expected better from the head of an international evil organization. She turned to Betty, expecting to see her about to crack up…when she saw the steely gaze still fixed on the vessel.

"Mrs. Load, can you give me any kind of figures as to how many of these vessels WEE might have?"

"Well like I said, my hunch is that this is a lone prototype," Minnie explained, minimizing the diagram and bringing her face back into the projection. "But now that Wade and I have a clear idea of what we're looking for…we can have a full count for you in maybe two hours, three if we want to make absolutely sure."

"Okay, better to be accurate in a situation like this," Betty sighed, still focusing on the screen. "Forward the report to Deputy Director Du when it's complete," Betty turned to Shego. "Can I have a private word Shego?"

Was…was there something she wasn't seeing here? Shego had spent enough time around inventions like this to actually be a little amused at the prospect of seeing the device in action, even more so if her daughter wasn't in the crosshairs. But Shego had also seen that look on Betty's face before, usually when something was terribly wrong. Her friend pulled her to a quiet corner and looked her in the eyes.

"Betty…what's going on? Are you worried about this?"

"Shego…I…this is just wrong," Betty broke contact and brought her over to a map. "Look at this; this is the Auckland base," She continued, indicating a position. "And this is the course the ship traveled on. Back track it and it leads you right to where Trafalgar is currently engaged. The WEE vessel was using the fight as a smoke screen, making us look in every direction except the one we should've. And look at the plan of the attack, skimming along the water safely under the rail guns' field of fire and then flying out with the package and likely hostages to keep us from blowing them out of the sky."

Slowly Shego was beginning to see Betty's train of thought. Something…something DID feel very wrong here, like she and Betty were completely missing the big picture.

"I mean, we can assume that Jindal was able to get Sheldon at least a basic report on the base's defenses," Betty explained. "But even with good intelligence, Sheldon is definitely not THIS good. He's almost a modern day Colonel Klink in that regard."

The more Shego thought about it…Betty was making sense. Betty was most definitely the authority on the subject matter here but looking back on all their missions that involved WEE and on all of her past associations with them as a villain…damn it; Sheldon WASN'T usually this good and all the times he came close, especially in recent years, it had been somebody smarter pulling the strings.

"You think there's some kind of hidden hand in all of this?"

"Sun Tsu says to know your enemy," Betty nodded. "And I do know Sheldon."

A cry from one of the signals techs brought them back to the screen. "The vessel's beginning to drill!"

Ma'am," the base security chief stepped up and saluted. "All chalks report ready to fly."

_Thank God for that,_ Shego thought to herself. "Get me out there as soon as humanly possible."

"Not without me," Betty barked, taking off after Shego.

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

Things had gone bad very quickly. Alpha company had been in position just in time but contrary to the plan, the vessel had in fact increased speed and opened up with the drill only moments before it would've collided with the rock face. From there, the vessel moved like Bugs Bunny through the ground. Now…now Kim and Bravo Company could only wait for the monster to come out.

Not for the first time, she took another look at her little brother. Man, she was torn. She was torn between wanting to clap him on the back for refusing to leave his sister's side…and wanting to club him upside the head and dragging him back to the transport! At this rate, her kids and her younger brothers were going to make her prematurely gray before she hit 40.

"When we get home, I am SO telling Mom. And then SHE'S going to tell your pregnant and hormonal wife."

"Well, we always say that anything is possible for a Possible," Jim shot back, adjusting the strap on the P-90 Kim had issued him. "You never know. I might just survive it."

Ugh…it had to be a twin thing. Jim and Tim; Em and Zoe; all of them always seemed to succeed in throwing the family motto back in her face.

Without warning the room began shaking. This…this was it. The drill could come up from any…OOOOOOFFFF! The ground seemed to shoot upwards underneath Kim's feet, sending her up with it. There was a split second of weightlessness and with a loud _thump_, Kim hit the ground, covered in a pile of rocks and dirt.

"KIM!"

Kim was vaguely aware of a pair of arms prying off the larger chunks of rock and embracing her. A loud bang sounded throughout the room. Through it all…Gracie…she had to get Gracie…away from here. Her…her radio was…at her side?

"Gr…Gracie…take…off." Kim was vaguely aware of her daughter making some kind of response. "Take off…NOW!"

A wave of bright blue light seemed to creep over her, bathing her in a feeling of cold like she'd been dunked in ice water. She…she felt like she was being dragged backwards, the rocks and debris in her way scuffing and cutting through her clothes. Even in her dazed state she felt an extreme regret that her battlesuit was back in the hovercraft. With all the activity, she hadn't had time to don it. Cold steel soon replaced rubble. By now, Kim's senses were beginning to rapidly return to her and with them the clear severity of her situation. She was in the vessel! She'd been stunned by the collision with the ground and those in the vessel had activated some kind of tractor beam or harness and hauled her inside. She blinked her eyes several times, clearing out the cobwebs…and realized that the situation had gone from worse to total Hell; Jim! Jim was on top of her! He must have leapt to help her and gotten pulled in along with her. The dragging ceased, as did the blue lights, and brother and sister splayed out in a tangled mess of limbs.

"As I live and breath," a male voie taunted as Kim was hauled up by the scruff of her neck. "The mighty Kimberly Possible herself; this IS a surprise indeed."

"Sir, the shock grenade didn't last as long as expected. Security is starting to wake up. Do we make a grab for the data?"

"I think not Sergeant,' The man, most likely their leader, replied, voice dripping with a slimy arrogance. "No, I think we've got sufficient…leverage to make the package come to us. Be so kind as to make us a door. And as for our guests," He flashed that snake like grin at Kim. "Take special care to show them the courtesy due their postion."

Kim had a sinking feeling that she knew what was coming. Bracing for the swift blow to her stomach made it slightly less painful but the future corpses had knocked the wind out of poor Jim, sending him to his knees.

"JIM!" Kim gasped, fighting against those restraining her. "You BASTARD! And YOU," She poured every ounce of hate into that glance and turned it on their leader. "So help me, someday soon you are going to be looking up at me with my boot over your throat!"

"I look forward to it my dear. Though I think it will be YOU that looks up at me from your back."

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

"Take…off…NOW!"

The words were like a knife to her heart. She'd been trying to mentally prepare herself, trying to MAKE herself do it. She…she had to…but she couldn't just…please God!

"AARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH," Gracie let out a cry as she hammered the thrusters. The hovercraft began to rise. She…would…be…back! She would find Momma, they would come back…and Gracie WOULD BRING Mom home! If she had to fly through a squadron of fighter drones with nothing but a hang glider and a slingshot, she WOULD help Mom. But first she had to get to Momma. The thrusters were up and humming so Gracie brought the hovercraft into a climb. Mom didn't really specify how WEE had planned to get out but one eye was on the sky and the other on the radar. "This is Gulf Papa Gamma Juliet calling any friendlies in the area. Repeat, this is Gulf Papa Gamma Juliet calling any friendlies in the area."

No response; she had to get out of range of this jamming field! Gracie brought the craft into a bank and began circling around the base, increasing the distance each time. God only knew what was going on back in the base but if she could get word out…maybe she could bring help, the Australian RAF or…or New Zealand SAS or SOMEBODY.

"This is Gulf Papa Gamma Juliet calling any available…"

"This is Gamma Juliet Sierra Niner Seven. We read you loud and…"

"GRACIE!?"

Thankyouthankyouthankyou…THANK YOU; Momma could NOT have picked a better time. "Momma; oh thank goodness! Where are you guys?"

"We're on the tarmac about to take off. Are you okay? Where are you?

"I'm in the hovercraft circling around the base about…two miles or so out. There's some kind of jamming field around the base. Mom…Mom is still…inside the base. She…she told me to…take off."

"It's going to be okay Muffin," Momma's voice crackled back. "Everything's going to be okay. I want you to maintain that distance, report back on any changes in the situation."

A great burst of red light burst out and hammered into the hovercraft, hammering Gracie in all directions. Warning sirens sounded and beacons began flashing, and Gracie put a death grip on the controls.

"Gracie? Gracie, what happened?"

"I…I don't know," Okay, she had to run diagnostics and she had to be quick about it. Controls were only a little sluggish so the damage couldn't have been too bad. "I've been hit by something. I think it came from inside the base."

"Is there any damage?"

"No…not much," Gracie glanced through the readings, content that for the moment she was fine. "It was just a glancing blow. The rear right repulsor is at half power. I think the aft auxiliary power cupling was damaged." Before Momma could respond, a blip appeared on the radar screen. "Momma I've got something on radar here. I…I think it's coming out of the testing grounds. I'm going to go in and take a look."

"No Gracie, I want you to stay on the perimeter until…"

"Oh, crap," Gracie's blood went cold. The blip on the screen took a distinct turn towards her and the target alarm began sounding. "Momma, they've seen me and they are locked on. Momma? Momma?" Momma's voice was replaced by a dull buzzing. Either the jamming field had expanded or that craft was what was causing it. Momma…crap; with her luck, Momma probably thought Gracie had disobeyed her. The band was DEFINITELY not going to let her forget this. The hovercraft's radar systems were quickly able to build a profile on the…what the heck was she looking at? This wasn't any aircraft she was familiar with. It was long, almost looking like a boat…if it weren't for the wings jutting out from the sides. Strangest of all was the drill that appeared to be mounted on the front of the vehicle. But what was abundantly clear was the black and red WEE insignia.

"Not good," Gracie breathed, watching as the vehicle closed the distance. "DEFINITELY not good."

Her instincts were immediate. Taking a grip on the controls, she threw the hovercraft into an about face and hit the thrusters. This wasn't going to be easy. She didn't know anything about the other vessel but she was all too aware of the fact that she was in a hovercraft rather than a proper fighter. What she wouldn't give to be in an F22 right now!

_Take the situation as it is; not the way you want it to be._

Mom's voice came through her mind so clearly that for a split second, Gracie thought Mom had come over the headset.

"Mom," Gracie asked tentatively. "Mom, can you hear me?"

The response, at least the vocal response, was only silence. The physical response however was far clearer. Whether by coincidence or something more, the radar warning intensified and a missile was fired. Bringing the defensive systems online, a volley of flares spewed out beneath the hovercraft. Gracie threw the thrusters to full power, pushing the craft to 200, 300, 400 mph. Thankfully, even while increasing speed, the missile shot wide. Now well clear of the jamming field, she got on the headset.

"This is Gulf Papa Gamma Juliet. I have been engaged by unknown WEE vessel. Repeat, I have been engaged by unknown enemy WEE vessel!"

Why aren't the rail guns firing? She and Mom had seen to it that they were on their toes so why…why wouldn't they fire on an enemy vessel that had just emerged from a friendly facility…and more than likely with prisoners. And Mom and Uncle Jim were…!

"Mom, please come in. I…I need to know you're okay."

She juked and jived all over the place, trying to get the vessel off her tail. She…what could she do? If Mom and Uncle Jim were on that vessel…?

"I'm afraid that your mother is unavailable," A voice replied. "I can confidently say that very soon…so will you."

Time seemed to freeze. The familiar burst of red light burst. A split second later, Gracie's whole world seemed to come apart at the seams. The hovercraft gave a great lurch and the safety straps dug into her shoulders. She'd been hit! She'd been hit by God knew what and she was going down. She'd been through this before and she knew she needed to act quickly. No telling how long she had. She grabbed the waterproof duffle containing the mech and most crucial hard drives. With her free hand, she hammered down on a nearby button. With a great heave, Gracie Possible shot into the open sky.

_Author's Note:_

_This one took a little while to actually bring to an end. Hope you like it so far. Anyway, I think you might be surprised at who the hidden hand is behind WEE's newfound competence. But will it be enough to topple the mighty Team Possible? Will Gracie survive being shot down in the Pacific Ocean? Tune in next time, same Kim-time, same Kim channel._


	8. Chapter 8

Shego felt like she was going to be sick. She'd told Gracie to…and then she heard that her daughter was being fired upon and…she'd pushed the pilots to their limit just to get to Auckland as fast as they did...but they were still too late. According to all reports, the sapper used some kind of tractor beam to snare Kim and Jim and hauled them inside as prisoners. And Gracie…nobody had heard or seen her since their radio traffic an hour ago. Two members of her family were captured, having God only knew what done to them, and her daughter had just disappeared, hovercraft and all, possibly in a…if it had been anyone else in these circumstances, they would've been in a near comatose state; but Shego Possible? Her family was in danger and no force on Earth, nor God himself, would stand in the way of the white hot fiery wrath of the fearsome "Woman in Green".

"Ma'am," One of the security personnel interrupted her musings, looking half scared that Shego would incinerate her on the spot. "This…this just came in from New Zealand Costal Patrol. The boat leader is on screen in the communications bunker." She handed Shego the pair of hi-res images and scampered away. Shego had no idea how she must look so…even in these circumstances, she couldn't really blame her…especially after Shego actually looked at the images. By the looks of it, the entire right quarter had been lasered off the hovercraft. The second image was the remainder of the craft being hauled out of the water. Shego seemed to lose all feeling in her body but had the sense that she was somehow still moving, almost as if she was being yanked by marionette strings.

_Gracie…Gracie is FINE! There's no…no body. They would've told me! Gracie…Gracie is OKAY!_

That became her mantra. Each repetition seemed to give her the strength to keep going, the mental fortitude to keep from breaking down in a fit of tears.

"Shego?" came a distant voice.

"Shego?"

All at once, Shego's mind jerked back to reality. She'd covered the distance to the communications room without even realizing it and was now staring face to face with Betty and the comm screen directly behind her.

"Shego, its good news; Lt. Scott, I want you to tell Agent Possible exactly what you told me."

"Aye ma'am; the wee lass they said was flying this was a right quick thinker. By the look of the front portion, I'd say she ejected before the ship blew."

"Do you hear that Shego? Gracie made it out."

Shego couldn't remember her heart leaping so high since she'd first held Nicky after the adoption was finalized. She…she had to get out there! "I need transportation out there immediately. Where did she fall?"

"That's the bad news I'm afraid ma'am," Lt. Scot continued. "None of our sensors are picking up her beacon. It might have been damaged in the fall. There's debris for miles. You can't exactly steer around chunks of metal in those circumstances."

Nothing changed the circumstances. Gracie had made it out of the hovercraft! Her daughter was alive and come Hell or high water, she was going to find her. All she needed was a ride.

"Betty, with all due respect, either get me some transportation or I'll steal some."

KPKPKPKPKPKPKP

She…she could hear singing. All around her, these melodious voices seemed to be calling out to her, almost talking to her. It was indescribable. She wanted to open her eyes, to see the source of these wondrous voices. But her eyelids felt like bricks…but she had to see them!

With sheer force of will, Gracie forced her eyes to open. Even that was a strain, sending waves of pain coursing through her body, especially her head. But staring directly into her eyes were a pair of the most brilliant blue eyes she had ever seen, a blue so bright that the eyes resembled gemstones. Taking in the whole face, Gracie could see what looked to be patches of shining turquoise skin spotting her face, kind of like coral. She…she couldn't be much older than Gracie herself. How…how did Gracie know that this was a girl? She had no idea but…she just somehow…knew. Was this a dream or…"Where…where am…"

The girl opened her mouth and Gracie's ears were once again bombarded with that melodious sound.

"Who…where…?"

The strain proved to be too much and everything went black.

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

She would see them again one day, of that she was sure. So…time and again, she kept a constant vigil over the sea. And so would her boys if she had anything to say about it. For as long as she could remember, Stella Moolai Anderson had been put to bed with Gramma's tales of the Water Tribe, better known to the rest of the world as mer-people for as long as she could remember. Every time Stella had visited her grandparents' village or they'd come to the city, Stella would be hanging on Gramma's every word of how the Water Tribe would come to the aid of unfortunate fisherman in times of great peril. They were said to be beings of unspeakable beauty and that their voices could calm even the most terrified of souls. Gramma had often spoken of the time her grandfather had been lost in a gale-force storm, gone for days, only to crawl out of the water a week later, precisely where Gramma had been keeping watch. According to Gramma, she'd seen a great fishtail disappear into the water and…and she'd heard them singing, saying goodbye to him.

From that day on, Stella had eaten, breathed, and dreamt those tales. And her life's ambition had been to find one of the Water Tribe, even going so far as to borrow Grandpa's little old boat and paddle up and down the coast, month after month, sometimes for kilometers on end, always turning up nothing, nothing until that fateful day when she was eleven. It had been just after a pretty bad thunderstorm. Once the rain had stopped, she'd gone out to look at the waves still rolling at the cove near the village, her favorite place in the world…and then she heard it! Almost like whale song but…she KNEW! She KNEW they were real!

And so, on the last day of her family reunion, Stella once again found herself walking the beach of the fishing village where she'd spent so much of her youth, once again keeping watch over the kilometer and kilometers of open sea.

"Hi Momma," Olly's small little voice came from behind her.

"There's my little Joey," Stella turned and walked back, hefting the six year old into a motherly embrace. "Hey, how'd you like to go on a walk about with Momma? I can tell ya a story on the way." The little tike absolutely loved to go exploring, so he was already clamoring to get up on his Momma's shoulders. "I think it's time I take you to my special place, a place that's been in our tribe for years."

Now Olly was excited! He probably thought this was a BIG secret and started clamoring even harder to be put on Momma's shoulders. Once he was situated comfortably, Stella shouted up to Izzy that she and Olly were going for a little walk. Liam was busy watching his uncles rehearse their haka so he wouldn't likely feel left out. Izzy just wanted them to be back in time for dinner.

Barely five steps from where they started, Stella could feel the boy twisting around, trying to look at everything at once, never mind that it was exactly the same so far. To little Olly Anderson, it was all a grand expedition into the unknown wilderness. Ah, the innocence of youth; there really was nothing so adorable.

"Wanna hear story now?" Stella asked, already having an inkling as to the answer. Olly's response was a rapid series of "please" while shaking Stella's head. "Well here it goes. This is a story that my Gramma told me when I was a little girl. Out there," she turned Olly and pointed towards the ocean. "Out there is the Iwi Moana, the Water Tribe." She turned back and continued on towards the cove. "A long time ago, a nice woman named Aihe ran away because someone was very bad to her. She took her Papa's boat and rowed away. She rowed all night until she rowed into a storm. The storm was REALLY bad," She laughed jiggled the boy a little, eliciting a chorus of giggles from him. "Is my little Joey still there?"

"What happened next Momma?"

"Well what happens next is the best part," Stella continued. She could almost see the cove from here. "So when Aihe got scared, she prayed to Tangaroa, the Great God of the Sea. She said 'Please Great Tangaroa; Please help me be safe'. And Tangaroa heard her cries and rode to her rescue on a giant whale. She was so happy that she fell in love with him. He took her to his magic underwater kingdom and they had lots and lots of babies. And all those babies became the Water Tribe." Wow…Stella was actually pretty pleased with herself for being able to clean that legend up pretty much on the spot. Gramma had her own attempt and it wasn't until Stella had been sixteen that she'd managed to find an actual text. "The Iwi Moana are very beautiful, just like Mommy. My Gramma told me that they had a shiny skin like silver and eyes like jewels. It's said that when a good person is trapped in a storm, the Water Tribe will rescue them and bring them home."

"Wow; have you ever seen one?"

No…but I heard one once," Stella sighed at the memory. "Right here, I heard one sing." She hefted Olly down and permitted him to go exploring. "But God willing, I will see one someday," she said to no one in particular. And everyone who cared about her believed that she would too. Izzy had always said her wife's faith and belief in magic and the unknown was one of the things she loved best about her. She'd never made her beliefs a secret but her little quirk had proved to be difficult in her personal life, especially in upper school. She had a wide array of other interests that granted her a fair number of friends, but in the quest for a significant other, her beliefs had proved complicating to say the least…until blessed Izzy.

_You and the boys are without a doubt the best thing that's ever happened to me._

While keeping an eye on the "Little Joey", Stella began poking around herself. Apart from being "her" spot, this cove always had the most beautiful sea shells for her craft projects back home. She'd just fished a few choice shells and reached for another when she scratched herself on something that floated into her path. What in the wide world was this? Stella fished it out and began examining it; a computer hard drive? What was a hard drive doing in the channel? Whatever it was doing there, it was a safe bet that the salt water had ruined it.

_Still_, she thought to herself, pocketing the little treasure. _Might be able to get it fixed and use it at home._

Stella collected a sack full of shells and was about to call Olly back when her ears perked up. It was very faint but growing steadily louder…that sound! Her eyes darted up and she began looking in all directions. She felt like her heart was about to burst out of her chest. Where? Where were they coming from? She…she was GOING to see them this time! "Olly…come quick." He must've been able to sense the excitement in her voice because he ran straight into her arms. "Do you hear that? THAT is the sound of the Iwi Moana…and I think they're saving someone right now."

Louder and louder…it was like she could almost…all of a sudden, the noise had a very distinctive change. She needed to swim out there! She had absolutely no idea where that thought had come from but…it was almost like the voice was calling her to help. Even with Olly here, she was willing but she couldn't see where…Stella's heart skipped a beat. There; Stella could see a patch of bright red hair standing out against the blue water. And whatever it was wasn't moving! She felt at her side…bloody HELL; of all the times for her to forget her bloody mobile it had to be right now! She looked down at Olly…there was nothing for it. She hefted him down onto the sand and looked him in the eye.

"Olly sweetie, this is very important. I need you to run back to the village and find Mommy and bring her back here. Tell her she has to bring her doctor tools to help someone. Can you do that for Momma?"

He readily nodded his agreement and scampered back towards the village. That took care of one problem; now to take care of the other. Stella stripped down to her knickers, tossing her clothes on the bank and took off for the body. It was not quite a quarter of a kilometer to the mouth of the cove and Stella was slightly winded when she got there…but that was the least of her thoughts. Holding the young woman above the water, resplendent in all her glory was an honest to God Iwi Moana! Quite obviously a female, she was the most breathtaking thing Stella had ever seen! She…Stella needed to take the girl. Once again, the musical sound the creature made seemed to translate into words in Stella's mind. Izzy and the others were fast approaching and were strangers to the Iwi Moana. But Stella…Stella was now Friend to Iwi Moana and could be trusted. This child was soon to be a friend too and it was necessary for Stella to help her as a fellow friend. It was so much to take in but Stella grabbed hold of the chunk of plastic the girl was clinging on to. The female Iwi Moana reached out a speckled hand and placed it over Stella's heart in some kind of farewell and quickly swam back out to sea.

Stella was at an utter loss for words. Had she not been abundantly aware of the injured young woman at her side, she was certain she'd have been found staring slack jawed at the open water. But this young woman needed her help. As the wife of a doctor, she'd picked up a fair bit, enough to know that the woman in question was little more than a girl, probably in her early to mid-teens, and she was in bad shape. There was a smeared trail of blood running down her forehead that Stella had a sinking feeling was a concussion. Strange though was the deployed parachute trailing behind her. Bah, that was completely irrelevant right now! Keeping a firm hold on the chunk of plastic and kicked for all she was worth. All she had to do was get as far as the shallows; then she could just carry the poor girl to shore. Her arm was beginning to get sore just as her feet managed to grab the sandy bottom. Now she had to be especially careful. Pulling the girl closer, she cradled her in her arms. By a further strange turn of events, the girl seemed to have a duffle locked in a death grip. Her right arm looked to be dislocated; best to let Izzy try and remove the bag.

Speaking of, Stella's ears picked up the party quickly approaching the water. Izzy had her kit and Papa and her brother Jimmy were carrying the litter.

"What happened?" Izzy asked as she knelt down to start her examination.

"She was out floating in the water nearby," Stella gasped, trying to catch her breath. She turned to Jimmy. "Lend us your knife big brother. I'll cut those cords from her chutes."

A few moments later, Izzy got to her feet and whipped out her mobile. "I don't know what she went through but it's a miracle she's even alive. She needs a hospital NOW!" She dialed 111 and quickly asked for a helicopter to airlift her to Wellington. Stella turned back to the teenager…and noticed something. She was soaked to the skin but the auburn almost red hair, that pale almost green skin…MY GOD; how had she not seen this before?

"Izzy," She called her wife back. "Do you…do you know who this is; the red hair…that face?" Stella could see the wheels turning until they finally clicked into place. "This is Kim Possible's daughter Gracie!"

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

Not for the first time, Shego uttered a silent prayer of thanks to God for creating Wade and Minnie. While Betty and GJ were working on Kim, the Loads were able to zero in on Gracie's exact location thanks to her biometric marker. Shego's heart leapt into her throat when she found out that Gracie was fading in and out of consciousness but her nerves were slightly reduced when Wade was able to identify Gracie had been picked up outside a Maori fishing village and was currently in an aero-med chopper headed to Bowen Hospital in Wellington.

After what seemed like hours, the GJ Chinook helicopter descended onto the landing pad next to the aero-med chopper that had likely brought Gracie in.

"Return to base," Shego barked to the pilot as she ran down the ramp. "I'll notify you when I'm ready to be picked up."

Thankfully the pilot wasn't going to argue. Now on solid ground, the flood gates had burst. All of the worry and stress that she'd managed to hold back just cascaded over her. Her baby was in the hospital! She'd been in a plane crash and…and she was fading in and out of consciousness…her little miracle! Shego took off running, tears cascading down her cheeks, each one burning like acid. With a great leap she burst through the Emergency Room doors so hard that she nearly took the slabs of metal off their hinges. Someone…SOMEONE in here had to be able to help her. Her eyes settled on a very startled looking nurse behind the front desk.

"I'm Shego Possible. Please…please ; my daughter was just admitted here a few moments ago. She's got red hair and…"

"Oh…the Jane Doe who was just brought in a few moments ago; Can I please see some identification?"

Shego's hand shot into a jacket pocket and dug out her Pennsylvania Driver's license. The nurse, sensing Shego's distress, didn't ask many more questions and led her through the doors and to just outside the OR. Shego immediately spotted a brunette woman looking into the window of the operating room.

"Mrs. Possible, this is Stella Anderson. She arrived with your daughter."

Shego's eyes were focused on the window, at her baby on the X-Ray machine. "How is she?"

"The doctors will know more when the x-rays are completed feel free to wait here as long as you like."

Shego was having trouble thinking straight. Her mind was a jumbled mess. She could remember the day she and Kim had brought their little miracle baby home from the hospital, so small and utterly innocent and helpless. That day…that day she promised herself that she would always be there for her and…

"Uh…Mrs. Possible?"

Shego had completely forgotten about the woman next to her. "Oh…_sniff_…forgive me," Shego sniffed, wiping a tear from her cheek. "Shego Possible," she offered her a hand.

"Stella Anderson," She replied taking the hand. "No worries ma'am. If it were my boys, I'd be the same."

"Where…where did you find her?"

"My boy and I saw her out in the water a little ways from my grandparents' village. I fished her out and my wife did what she could and then called a helicopter. We…we actually met your wife in Wellington a few days ago."

"Thank you," Shego choked out. "God…God bless you for what you did."

Gracie's doctor came out a short time later to explain the situation. Gracie's injuries were pretty severe. She'd dislocated her shoulder, sustained lacerations to her torso where the harness had dug in, two of her ribs on the left were broken and three on the right were broken. Most serious was the concussion. It was far from minor but not so severe that it was life threatening or posed a risk of serious brain damage. The doctor predicted a full recovery but she'd have a long road ahead of her.

"Is there anyone we can contact for you Mrs. Possible?"

"No," Shego replied, trying to get a hold on her emotions now that she'd heard the prognosis. "Uh no; I can handle that. Thank you though."

The only one she could think of calling in a situation like this was Mom. Shego was mentally and physically exhausted and couldn't even begin to figure the time difference but grabbed her Shegophone out and dialed Mom's cell. It took a few minutes but years of being on call had trained Mom to listen for the phone at all times.

"Hi Shego; did you talk to Kim?"

"Mom, I…there's been an accident. Gracie is…in the hospital."

"Oh my God; what happened?"

"It…it's a lot to get into right now. I know this is short notice but…"

"Shego, I will be there as soon as humanly possible. You can fill me in then. I love you and I will see you soon!"

What was she going to say to Mom when she got here? Kim was being held prisoner God knew where and their eldest child had just narrowly survived a plane crash and Shego had…Shego had…

She understood on a rational level that none of this was her fault. But she couldn't…she felt like…while there would be plasma hurling and ass-kickings galore in the days to come, right now she felt useless, worse than useless. When faced with an enemy twice her size, Shego could take them down without even blinking twice…but put one of her babies in a situation like this? She needed Mom. Short of Kimmie herself, Anne Possible was one of the few whom Shego could bear her soul to, and the very first woman whom Shego had dared share her childhood with. She was every inch the mother that Shego had always wanted and the mother that she prayed she'd be with her own children. She…she just didn't trust herself to be alone right now.

"I don't know if I can be alone."

"Pardon?"

Had…had Shego said that out loud? She'd forgotten Stella Anderson was even there. "I…I'm sorry Mrs. Anderson."

"Please, call me Stella. If you'd like me to stay until your mum gets here…"

"Oh Stella…you've already done so much…"

"Nonsense," Stella assured, moving towards the door. "I'll call the missus and let her know. Can I bring you a cup of tea to help you sleep?"

Shego…Shego didn't know what to say. Even here in such difficult times, God blessed Shego with the kindness of strangers. "I…I…thank…thank you. I'd love a cup of Jasmine tea."

Shego heaved a sigh and turned back to the window. Gracie…Gracie…was going to be okay. Her meta-human abilities would speed the healing process. But Kimmie…

_Oh Kimmie…May the Lord hear you in your day of trouble, the name of the God of Jacob defend you, send you help from his sanctuary and strengthen you out of Zion; Remember all your offerings and accept your burnt sacrifices; Grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your mind; Amen._

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

She was dreaming; of that, Gracie Possible was sure. What else could it be? It was strange; this had been the first occasion in which Gracie was actually aware that she was dreaming. What did they call it? Lucid Dreams? She…she was under water. Definitely not Lake Erie; the water was far too clear. Hadn't…hadn't she been in…New Zealand…with…yeah; she was with Mom! But…she was underwater…and Mom was nowhere to be seen…wait a minute! Didn't she…didn't she need to breath?

The physical ramifications of her current predicament…wow; if only Momma could've heard that alliteration…anyway; the physical ramifications aside, Gracie's attention was quickly captured by what looked like a coral reef…wait ANOTHER minute! Were those…they looked like quilts of sea weed. And…THERE! Even in the shimmering clear water, she could make out the sets of shining blue and green eyes, almost like gems set into the coral itself. Slowly…EVER so slowly, the eyes became faces. The faces, streaked with the same colors as the reef almost like war paint, became heads, heads decked with pointy ears and hair of blues, greens, golds, and brilliant silvers. But where Gracie had expected to see legs attached to their pale turquoise skin, were…fins. These were…mermaids…and mermen. She was…she was dreaming about merpeople? Four, one male and three female…how in the world did she know that; four of them took up positions around her and began to sing. The sound was…other worldly, like nothing Gracie had ever heard before. But through the sound, words began to form in her mind.

Iwi Moana; she knew them to be merpeople but they called themselves the Iwi Moana…whatever that meant. She…she was a…a spirit child of Aihe? And that made her Hoa, a Friend to the Iwi Moana. In times of great trouble, they would be her Tiaki…her help in a time of need. But to protect her, they couldn't be known to others…and she had to wake up!

"Gracie? Muffin?"

Gracie jerked upwards. That…that was definitely a voice she'd literally heard. Momma; Momma had told her to…to avoid the vessel…the…THE ONE THAT MOM WAS ON! She'd left Mom behind to be…to be…

"MOM!" Gracie shot up. That…that was most definitely her first mistake; what…what had happened? She…every fiber of her body seemed to be crying out in pain, especially her head.

"Easy Muffin," She heard Momma and felt her familiar hands slowly guiding her back to what turned out to be a hospital bed. She…she was in a hospital? "You've got to take it easy. You're body's really been through the ringer."

"Momma, I…I left her…I left Mom to…but…but she ordered me to…"

"Shhhh," Momma clasped her daughter's hand. "I know. I know everything. It's all going to be okay. I promise you that everything is going to be okay and that we're going to get Mom back. You're going to get well and…and everything is going to be okay. How do you feel?"

"I…ARGH," Gracie cringed as her head settled back on the pillow. Momma…Momma said that she would get Mom back and…and Gracie's head was already spinning like a tilt-a-whirl. Just agree with her. Gracie couldn't argue with the fact that in the short term at least, it would be better to just agree with Momma. "Everything…EVERYTHING hurts. What happened? I remember ejecting and…"

"This has GOT to be a Possible thing. You and your Mom sure didn't get this from MY side of the family," Grandma laughed, brushing away a stray hair from Gracie's forehead. "You gave us quite a scare little lady. Dislocated shoulder, lacerations across your body, two cracked ribs and three broken, and one whopper of a concussion; but in true Possible fashion, you're going to be fine. Do you remember anything sweetie?"

"I…I remember ejecting and…oh man, the hard drives! What happened to…"

"It's okay Muffin," Momma gently guided her back to the bed, lifting the duffle up from next to the bed. "Mighty quick thinking; what else do you remember?"

"Uh…I…I think that the hovercraft blew up when it hit the water. After that…just stray images, being in the water, some…somebody pulling me to shore. Am…you're sure I'm going to be okay? I didn't die out there Benedict Cumberbatch isn't just waiting outside?"

"Much as I'd like that too, you're going to be fine," Grandma chuckled, leaning in and planting a kiss on Gracie's bandaged forehead. "They've got very good doctors here and I promise you that I won't leave your side. The doctors want you to spend a few more nights here then you and I will hop on a plane back to PA."

Back to PA? In the whirlwind of events that had been the past few days, Gracie hadn't even really thought about home. "What…what about Mom?"

"You let me worry about that," Momma smiled and ignited one of her hands in plasma. "They messed with the wrong Momma Possible and they are SO going to be sorry." Gracie couldn't hold back a small laugh, much to her ribs' chagrin. Times like this Gracie was so totally jealous of Momma's powers. Gracie could heal a broken bone in the blink of an eye…unless it was her own. A great healing power coursed through her veins and she had to rely on stupid old modern medicine. "All you need to worry about is taking it easy and getting better." Momma appeared to be mulling something over and stepped to her purse and pulled out a wallet. "I tell ya what. I'm gonna give Grandma fifteen dollars and when you two get home, you have my permission to invite Mary and everybody else over and rent as many movies as that will get you…within reason. Sound good?"

That…that DID sound very good; even now, Gracie was imagining a marathon of Rise of the Fearless Ferret, She's the Guy, and a few choice others; Grandma's supervision eliminated a few films, mostly ones that Billy and Jimmy would've lobbied hard for, but none respectable and classy ladies like Gracie or Mary would miss. What in heaven's name did Billy see in that foul-mouthed Pandaroo named Fred?

"Do we have a deal young lady?"

Gracie was too weak to offer up a hand shake but she smiled and nodded in agreement. "Thanks Momma."

"That's my girl," Momma smiled. The Shegophone chimed and she pulled it out, checking the screen. "Now…now I'm going to ride in on my white horse and bring your mother back."

"Can we GET a white horse after this?"

"Not even if your legs were broken and you'd been hit in the head so hard you thought you were Joan of Arc Grace Anne Possible!"

All got a tremendous laugh at that and Gracie a good deal of sympathy from Grandma after Momma left. This…this was definitely going to be a long recovery, even with the meta-human genes she and the twins shared with Momma. What was Gracie going to do? Was she supposed to keep from laughing for a month? Talk about a hollow life not worth living. Grandma excused herself to the little girl's room, leaving Gracie alone with her thoughts.

Now that she was more aware of her current situation, she couldn't help but flash back to that bizarre…was it really a dream? Or…was it some kind of memory? She had absolutely no idea what to think about that. Gracie had had sort of livid dreams before but none of them were so clear even after she woke up. She could almost remember coming face to face with one of them. In the wake of being shot down, had Gracie really encountered and been saved by…merpeople? And in…in the vision, she would call it, they'd advised her not to speak of this because they only showed themselves to those they chose to…but Gracie just HAD to talk to someone about this.

"Grandma," Gracie asked Grandma as she came back to Gracie's bedside. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course sweetie," Grandma assured. "You know you can ask me anything."

"Do you…do you believe in…fairy tales?"

Grandma took on a very thoughtful look, mulling over Gracie's question. Gracie had been able to talk to her parents about just about anything for as long as she could remember. But on the rare occasions that she was uncomfortable bringing something to Mom or Momma…or she was in a whole heap of trouble with them, Grandma had always had her back. She'd always listened to her granddaughter and seriously considered her opinions.

"That's a tricky one Muffin," Grandma sighed, taking a seat next to the hospital bed. "Well…I've been a doctor for almost 30 years and they train us to believe that everything has an explanation. But…when I look at the things your mothers do," Grandma delicately patted Gracie's shoulder. "When I see the things my grandchildren do, they are nothing short of miraculous. So…yes; whether it's fairy tales or one of the best grandchildren a grandmother could ever hope for, there are things out there that can't be explained. Why do you ask? You see a mermaid out there in the ocean?"

_Author's Notes:_

_I've been wanting to write about merpeople for a long time. They're kind of a hobby of mine and something, like my profile says, I think could really exist. Hopefully the legend I've laid down is a good one._


	9. Chapter 9

Plasma slinging and ass kickings a plenty; dear God Shego sure hoped so. Gracie was alive and going to make a full recovery. That was more than any mother could ask for. But as a loving wife…now Shego really felt like burning someone. God willing, if she was presented with the opportunity, this surprise guest star WEE had in all this would definitely be a tempting target. If she was feeling particularly artsy, she might even give the walking corpse a few tribal symbols as souvenirs. Ever since Dementor had pulled a gun on Kim during their globe-trotting vacation after Kimmie graduated college…and admittedly after she, Kimmie, and Abby had first watched _Inglorious Bastards_, Shego was frequently tempted to take a page from Aldo Raine's book and sometimes enjoyed getting a little creative with her punishments.

The Chinook landed with a soft thud and Shego descended to the tarmac, setting foot onto Global Justice Ft. Durango, fully ready to get to work. And by the look of the newly arrived Ron Stoppable, he was equally eager. Ron must have pushed his pilot to the limit to make such time getting here but Shego sure wasn't one to nitpick in a situation like this.

"How's Gracie?"

"Doctor says that it's going to be a wrong road," Shego replied, following Ron into the base. "But she's going to be okay; any word on Kimmie and Jim?"

The pair flashed their IDs to the guards and continued on into the building. "Last I heard, that wacko flying boat had hit the mainland somewhere in Vietnam and continuing north. You think Motor Ed could be their wild card?"

"No flame decals on the boat? A complete absence of ear shattering mullet rock? Unlikely; no, I'm thinking it's gotta be someone else. Maybe Monkey Fist?"

"Nah, there's a total lack of monkeys."

"You never know. Maybe Monty's trained his little merry band of banana lovers to sail the seven seas."

Ron shivered as the image entered his head. "Like monkeys aren't freaky enough," Ron cringed as the guard ushered them into the CIC room.

"Says the master of monkey martial arts," Shego laughed, patting her old friend on the back. "You're a man of many contradictions Ronald Possible."

Betty spotted them and waved them over to the central projector. Thank goodness Betty's eyes looked more rested than when Shego had left. Shego had been afraid that Betty wouldn't sleep until they'd gotten Kim back.

"How's Gracie?" She immediately asked.

"Concussion, dislocated shoulder, cracked and broken ribs and she STILL looked disappointed that she couldn't come with me," Shego described. "The doctors say it's going to be a long road but she's gonna make a full recovery. What's the sitch here?"

They'd tracked the vehicle steadily and now placed it somewhere on the Mongolian/Russian border. At best, Russia was a reluctant ally of Global Justice. They had been suffering one international PR nightmare after another since Igor Chuikov's attempt on Kim's life and the ensuing gay rights protests that ended with almost a hundred protestors hospitalized and then imprisoned. So Russia could ill-afford a conflict with GJ. That meant the base was more likely somewhere in Western or Northwestern Mongolia in the mountains.

"Mongolia in the winter," Ron moaned. "Oh joy."

"Our scans indicate that they could be anywhere within a five mile radius of these mountains," Betty brought up a slice of the mountainous Western border. "The bad news is that we have absolutely no idea what to expect when we get out there. My hunch is that they've built their base into one of the mountains or possibly underneath but I can't be sure. So Shego and Ron, I want you two to scout the area, look for any clues as to where the base may be hidden."

"Any indication at all as to what kind of troops we're running the chance of meeting?" Shego asked, studying the hologram intently.

"None whatsoever," Betty sighed apologetically. "But I'll see if I can call in a few more favors and have some support for you."

Well…these were far from the worst odds Shego had ever faced. The weather conditions were relatively good for the next few days. Shego and Ron would halo jump from 20000 feet and if they could stay together, they'd set up base camp at one of the smaller mountains. Wade had collapsible cross-country/downhill skis and poles in Team Possible's winter pack making for easy transportation. What was truly tricky however was that this environment eliminated Shego's plasma powers except in absolute emergencies. Betty's recommendation was to go in with crossbows. Weapons Research had developed a series of specialty tips. Shego couldn't help but laugh when Betty brought up the specs. Was it the developer's deliberate intention to rip off Jeremy Renner and Hawkeye?

"Alright ladies and gentlemen," Betty sighed. "I think we've got a plan. Shego, how long do you think it could take you two to scout the whole site?"

"An area of five square miles of mountains? If we're thorough, I'd say a day, maybe a day and a half to be sure."

"Okay…here's what we'll do then," Betty continued, highlighting a spot at the bottom of the mountains. "Knowing Sheldon, he's probably made some kind of deal with the Mongolian government. At the same time as your halo jump, I'll station two Chinooks we've outfitted with stealth tech here in Sydney. If you don't find anything, make your way down to them."

"We should probably have some kind of emergency plan in place," Shego decided. "We'll check in with the Chinooks every two hours. If we miss two check ins…have them take off and have them head for the point of last contact."

"Now that I think about it, the South Korean PM is a good friend and would love to poke the Mongolians in the eye. I'll see if I can get you some first rate air cover if things get hairy," Betty agreed, patting her friend on the shoulder. "The quartermaster should have everything you need. Lift off is in 4 hours."

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

Ronald Stoppable didn't say a word as the Hercules began approaching mainland China. A mission like this, there really wasn't much to say to anyone. There never was when his family was in trouble. WEE had kidnapped him and nearly killed Gracie and…and all Ron could think about was revenge! Kim and Gracie were family to him and...he never liked going down this road but sometimes he couldn't help it. He fingered the fletchet rifle strapped to his back reassuringly.

"You okay Ron?" Shego returned to the bay after having a quick word with the pilot.

"Yeah…just going through a train of thought."

Shego Possible took a moment to study her friend. She'd known Ron for years, both from opposing sides and the same side, and bumbler that he was in his early years, Ron had never really shed that Saturday morning cartoon hero mentality, neither he nor Kim ever having to kill in those days and only doing it extremely rarely today. Now…now every GJ mission Ron went on, he was packing that Smith &amp; Wesson revolver, holding the power of life and death in his hand as he saw it. Thank God for the fletchet rifle though. The thing was just as incapacitating as a gun but completely non-lethal. But, whether out of Yori's insistence or some other concern, Ron always went into a fight with both weapons.

"Ron, you're one of the best people that I know," She sat down and put her arm around the guy. "Never have I seen you so much as touch that thing if there was any other way," Shego gestured at the revolver. "You understand the responsibility of using that thing…which is more than can be said for HALF the people who actually want to carry one."

"It's not the gun," Ron sighed. "Gracie…Gracie almost died and…and I want more than anything to…" Totally out of character, Ron's grip on the crossbow tightened and Shego actually thought she heard him growl. Was Ron experiencing a little blood lust?

"And you want revenge. In getting revenge, you're afraid of how far you'll take it."

"You…always could read me like a book."

Shego could more than understand that and…heck; who was she kidding? She was going through it right now as well. She'd made it clear to all of her old associates that anything potentially lethal on Kimmie or any member of her family was a death sentence compliments of Shego. But…she'd only ever come close to fulfilling that promise once. And even then, that had been a warning. But now…all her talks with Father Mitch…all the time she'd spent studying the King James Bible in her night stand…for a long time now she had been considering whether or not she could actually kill somebody in cold blood again. But then her mind flashed to Kimmie…alone in a dark cell…having God only knows what…NO! She couldn't go there!

"Ron, I grapple with that every time Kimmie goes out on a mission without me," Shego breathed, pulling her friend close. "If anything ever happened to Kimmie…or even you," She playfully mussed up his already unkempt hair. "I don't know. Part of me believes that anyone we meet who would take I that far is aware of the consequences but…I don't know. But don't worry. You and me will scout the place out, lead the cavalry charge in, Kimmie will be okay and have a host of new ideas for her next book, and everything will be all hunky dory."

"One minute to drop," The pilot's voice came over their headsets.

The pair shared a look and started getting ready. Even with Shego's insulated battlesuit and her higher than normal body temperature, it was likely going to be plenty cold out. All inhabitants of the cargo bay secured the oxygen masks, and the rear hatch began clanking open, sending a whoosh of air out that would've knocked most people firmly off their feet.

"Thirty seconds to drop."

Shego and Ron did a last second heck, making sure that all their equipment was secure. Ron wasn't about to let the inflatable tent go. Their suits provided some protection from the cold but a night spent out under the stars in a Mongolian winter was something nobody wanted.

"Ten seconds to drop."

Shego counted off the seconds internally. Five…four…three…two…one! Ron and Shego bumped fists and took off running down the ramp. With a great leap, Shego's world was rendered weightless. Even in serious times like this, skydiving as a near euphoric experience for her. And on a clear night like this, her night vision let her see everything. Her HUD came online and instantly began gaging the distance to the ground. 18000 feet…17500 feet…17000…16500. All she could here was the sound of her own breathing. 15000 feet…14500 feet…14000 feet…

"Hey Ron, " Shego said into the mouth piece. "You hear the one about the dyslexic atheist insomniac?"

"No; tell me about him."

"He stayed up for hours wondering if there was a Dog."

"Ha…not bad but I think I can top it," Ron chuckled. "So the President of the US, Bill Gates, Drakken, a Rabbi, and a ten year old kid are all on a plane about to crash but with only four parachutes. The president says 'I'm the leader of the free world' and takes a parachute. Bill Gates steps up and says 'I'm one of the greatest innovators in the last hundred years' so he takes a parachute. Drakken steps up and says 'I'm the infamous Dr. Drakken, feared supervillain, inventor, and genius. I will be taking a parachute.' So he snatches one and jumps off. So now it's only the Rabbi and the little kid. The Rabbi's lived a good long life so he wants the boy to take the parachute and leave him. 'But sir,' the kid says. 'There are parachutes for the both of us. The evil genius just took my backpack'."

That bought a laugh. The pair continued to trade jokes and puns back and forth. Halo jumps, while quite exhilarating, did leave the parties involved with a few minutes to themselves.

"2000 feet," Shego called into the radio. "Deploying chutes."

The silky white canopy shot out of Shego's pack and gave her a yank, pulling the harness tight against her torso. She'd deployed right in the middle of a fluffy white cloud but was quickly treated to a good overhead view of their target area. Somewhere down there, her wife and brother-in-law were waiting for the Cavalry.

"Shego, this is Betty. Do you copy?"

"I read you. What's up?"

"We think we've got you a place to start. One of our thermal sats picked up a brief heat bloom, roughly sixty seconds, from a section two clicks from your LZ."

Thanks Betty. Ron and I will head that way a soon as we touch ground."

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

(Three Days Earlier)

She'd crack a rib for sure. The morning after they'd been taken, at least she thought it was morning, the WEE Lieutenant and his cronies came into Kim's makeshift prison cell and just let loose. But…she didn't give them the satisfaction of hearing her cry out. She damn well wouldn't give them THAT! The Lieutenant's misogynistic comments and Jim's pleading cries as they forced him to watch, ringing in her ears.

"Its okay little brother," Kim grunted, ignoring the shooting pain in her chest. "I barely felt a thing."

Thank God Jim couldn't feel what she was feeling. She contorted her face into a snarl and turned it on her captor. "And you! You enjoy this while…_cough_…you can!"

"Rest assured Mrs. Possible" the Lieutenant chided. "When Agent Epsilon is through, I will THOROUGHLY enjoy myself with your company."

"Sir, we've begun our descent," the pilot radioed back.

What Kim wouldn't have given for a window, SOMETHING to help her get her bearings for an escape or to get word to Eme. The vessel had shot its way out of the northwest wall of the base. They briefly turned southwest but quickly returned to their original heading. Based on the flight time and the direction, they could be anywhere in Eastern Asia, plenty of less than friendly nations that would put up the criminal organization for a price.

The vessel dipped low and a short time later, came to a definite stop. Now…where were they?

"On your feet," barked one of the guards.

Jim delicately lifted his sister to her feet and put her weight on his shoulder. "It's gonna be okay Kim. Everything's going to be fine."

"Keep your eyes open when they move us," She whispered. "We've got to get word to Shego."

The landing hatch opened, bathing the pair in a bright light and brisk air. They looked to be in a mountain complex of some kind. They may have been unusually skilled on this mission but in that moment, Kim thanked God that old habits die hard. The fools treated her to a full view of their outside surroundings before the doors were closed. All around them were snowy mountains. Not a great help but at least it was something.

Gun barrels pressed to their backs, the pair was herded out of the hanger and into the honeycomb of hallways. Here, here was where Kim needed to be sharp. The proximity of the barracks armory, communications, hell, even a broom closet could be useful. Every intersection and corner looked to be monitored by turret cameras. They'd need some way to neutralize those. No doubt Jim would be able to rig something up. After a fifteen minute jaunt through their temporary home, dropping down two levels from the armory, the pair was ushered into the detention block.

"There's a _Star Wars_ joke to be made here," Kim piped up, doing her best to stand on her own. "Never thought I'd miss Shego making those on a mission."

Their escort handed the prison warden their orders and were then instructed to send them to the empty cell near the end. They marched down a hall of what looked to be ten cells with the eleventh capping off the row. Each cell looked to be sealed with some kind of electrical barrier. Their goons had to know that she was already planning a blitz out, to use the proper vernacular for the situation, but she didn't want to make it too obvious. What would the ghosts of James Garner and Steve McQueen think of her then?

With one more shove, Kim and Jim were "ushered" into the cell and stood back while the barrier was activated. There was a faint buzzing as the electrical field normalized and then silence. Thankfully neither the guards nor the warden felt the need to poke the bear as it were, likely out of fear of Kim's wife. At least there was that.

"What are we going to do?" Jim sighed once their audience was gone, lying Kim down on one of the hard surfaces that was likely supposed to serve as their beds.

"WE…are going to bust out of here or get word to Eme so SHE can bust us out," Kim replied oh so matter-of-factly, trying to sit up despite her brother's and her own body's protests.

"Kim, no," Jim pleaded, catching her as her body quivered. "Please lie down. We DID have the same brain surgeon for a mother." Jim pulled off his already torn shirt and put it under Kim's head for a pillow. "You don't listen to me and I'll tell mom on YOU!"

"Kim? Kim Possible?"

Kim quickly noticed that the electrical barriers didn't go entirely to the ceiling, effectively keeping all of the prisoners in a bubble. But that voice…something about the female voice tickled Kim's memory. "Who am I talking to?"

"Specialist Gabby Rodriguez, US Army CIS," the woman introduced, taping on the side of the adjoining cell. "What in Satan's fire are you doing here?"

Kim could almost make out the body to go with the name; quite tall for a woman of Mexican ancestry, if memory served, but a regular Wyatt Earp when it came to her sidearm. They…they'd met when Motor Ed had attempted to boost that experimental hover tank from Fort Bragg a few years ago. But…she had to be careful here. WEE may not have been geniuses but they weren't above putting a plant in the cell next to her. "Ft. Benning, right? Dr. Dementor tried to steal that new missile tech they were testing?"

"It was Bragg, Motor Ed, and he stole a hover tank," Rodriguez corrected, a touch of amusement in her voice. "Touché though; what had he put on the tank when we found it?"

"Flame decals and naked lady mud flaps," Kim replied confidently. Good; at least their cellmate was an ally. "The other guy here's my little brother Jim Possible. So what's the situation here; any idea where in the world we are?"

"Well by our guess, we're somewhere in Mongolia," Rodriguez answered. "Meechum from MI-6 in the cell diagonal to your right has a mind for geography and was able to guess the destination from where they picked him up in Thailand. There's me, Meechum, Li on my right is from South Korean Secret Service along with Han to the left of Meechum. Next to Han are Anya and Sasha Reznov, a pair of Ukrainian siblings that work for GJ too."

The Reznov twins were here too? That was good news if they could get out of their cells. Independent Contractors like Kim and Shego, Sasha and Anya Reznov were some of the best infiltration and recovery specialists in the business. Born of a Ukrainian father and Polish mother, Anya had been a well-known international teen model and had shocked the world when she'd joined her brother in the Ukrainian Army. When not doing free-lance work, they pair made a darn good living as security consultants.

"I believe Shego's still waiting on that Stroganoff recipe Anya," Kim called out.

"Kimberly?" Try as she might, Kim could never get Anya to just call her "Kim". "Old Comrade, it's been years. What brings you to our little Stalag?"

"Kind of a long story," Kim repeated. "What's the surveillance like in these cells?"

"Believe it or not, there's absolutely nothing," Rodriguez answered back. "We're essentially in an electromagnetic box. The energy causes…what was it again Han?"

"It causes a constant electromagnetic pulse within the contained area of the detention block," Jim interrupted, now examining the barrier. "Sorry to interrupt but my brother Tim and the guys and I were fooling around with something similar back in New York."

"You…you're THAT Jim Possible?" Kim heard Li gasp. "Sir, it is indeed a great honor. I'm a tremendous fan of your engineering firm's work."

Kim rolled her eyes and took in the sight of Jim encountering what amounted to a tech groupie in the middle of a prison cell. If he weren't happily off the market as it were, Kim wouldn't expect him to blush.

"Uh…thanks…I guess…"

"Has there been any luck with break outs so far," Kim asked, finally able to sit up with Jim distracted. "Numbers ? Likely equipment?"

"Well these chaps have us at a bit of a standstill," Meechum volunteered. "Our only chances are when they bring us out individually for our little private chats. Li's still working on a way out of these little cracker boxes."

Jim was examining every inch of the live field, getting as close as he could without actually touching it. Kim had seen that look before, on Eme, on Dad, on Ron. They were barely five minutes in and Jim was actually ahead of her on developing a plan to bust out of their cells. "Jim…you've got that look in your eye, the same one when you and Tim supped up the drier and made my favorite pair of jeans come to life."

"Well…like I said, we fooled around with this concept back in the states," Jim continued. "Us and a few other labs that I know of; several of us had a working prototype but as far as I know, everyone scrapped the project for two main reasons…both of which can help us, unless I'm VERY much mistaken." Jim braced himself and looked back at Kim. "Now…Kim, this is likely going to hurt. But Kim, believe me when I say I know what I'm doing."

Oh God; Kim had a bad feeling about this. "I know what I'm doing" had been the twins' rationale for virtually every hair brained or crazy invention they had ever conceived. Kim looked into her brother's eyes and…well…the way she felt right now Jim could probably bat her away like a fly. "Dare I even ask what you're planning Little Brother?"

"Kim, unless I seriously missed my guess, this is one of the prototypes from one of the labs I mentioned. The force field's the same, the titanium generation electrodes used to maintain the field…everything's the same…which also means that, like I said, this little box potentially has the same flaw."

"And why is it so dangerous?"

"Well, this cell is kind of like a glorified tesla coil that you see in high school science class," Jim explained, bracing himself before the doorway. "It's vital that no matter what, you don't pull me away. Miss Reznov, is the guard at his desk?"

"Neit James," Anya replied. "You are free to move."

It was faint but Kim was sure that she heard Jim counting down from three to one. She…she couldn't let her little brother do this! Cracked rib and bruises or no, she climbed to her feet…but not before Jim jammed his index fingers into the field, sending small bolts of energy through the field.

"JIM!" Her pain forgotten, Kim bolted to Jim but stopped short at Jim's cry.

"Stay…away," he hissed, keeping his fingers stationary. "If…you…pull me away…the current will…vaporize me."

Please…Please God let this work! If this went bad…Kim sank to her knees and not because of the pain. She knelt and began uttering every prayer she could think of. Jim had never been especially religious but…but God would protect him. God would see him through this. Kim dared to keep and saw Jim moving his fingers towards the center, Jim's torso blocking the remainder of her view. As quickly as it had come, the crackling of energy ceased and Jim took a huge gasping breath. Ever so slowly, Jim turned sideways and…had Kim just had a sudden mental break? Jim…Jim's arm was through the barrier. With a yank, Jim pulled his arm back through, the hole vanishing back into the energy barrier.

"Believe…_COUGH_…believe it or not," Jim gasped, collapsing onto his bed. "I…_COUGH_…saw that in…a movie once."

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

If they were fast, this would work. Jim's revelation on how to get them out of their cells had lit a fire under the crew to escape. Once again being able to look everyone in the face from time to time had helped tremendously. However after conferring with Meechum and the Reznovs, overtaking or even escaping was out of the question. With Shego and Betty likely combing the entire region looking for them, their best bet was revealing the base to the outside world. And the best way to do that was exploiting the barrier system's other flaw. According to Jim, the other reason the project had been scrapped was that the energy levels required to maintain the barrier for extended periods of time were staggering. The mountain likely provided a small degree of shielding but for this place to have remained hidden, WEE had to have some kind of thermal shielding. If Kim and the other prisoners could deactivate the shielding, even for only a few moments, that would light up the base like a Christmas tree.

Meechum had been taken away for interrogation and that gave them their opening. Sasha and Kim had delivered swift sleeper holds to the guards and ushered Li to the computer.

"All computers within the base are interconnected," Li explained, taking a seat at the station. "So in theory, I should be able to deactivate the system from here."

With speed that rivaled that of Shego herself, Li began typing, delving into the very center of the base's network. Kim and Sasha kept watch in the hall. If there was any fairness in the world, they'd be back in their cells before anything was noticed.

"Seong-song," Li gasped. "I'm in. What next?"

"We don't want to attract too much attention," Thank God for a little luck. Kim returned to the computer station. "Deactivate it for 60 seconds."

Li activated a few keystrokes and quickly deactivated the station. Now they had to make this look convincing. The sleeper hold would keep the guards out for at least another twenty minutes. They could make it look like they'd just fallen asleep. Sasha hefted the guard into a nearby chair and Kim and Li did the same to the warden. All three returned to their cells and heaved a sigh of relief.

Jim removed the metal spoons he'd used and pocketed them. Having those sure beat the Hell out of using your fingers. Kim cringed as she sat back down. Jim had ranted and railed against Kim being the one to do this but…how the Hell did Shego do it? How did she manage to ride reign on the stubborn nut that was his sister? Hopefully those bruised would at least do the trick.

"You really think that's enough to clue Global Justice in on where we are?"

"I didn't see any stealth or cloaking devices when they took us," Kim cringed, settling into what had become her couch/bed. "Betty and Eme had a clear bead on us and enough satellites to track us for miles. All we need…" THERE we go. Kim found a position where her bruises didn't hurt so bad. "All we need is to signal them. Just think of it as a little signal fire."

There was a long silence prompting Kim to turn to face her little brother. Jim had held up remarkably well over the past day but the news that they likely would have to wait for a rescue had made him a little nervous. Looking at him right now, Kim could see the uncertainty in Jim's eyes. "What's up little brother?"

"Kim…what…what if…what if they torture me? I…I don't know…if I'll be able to hold up. And the others have been talking about that new figure, Agent Epsilon and…"

Well…it was a fair question. Kim had endured torture before and…well…one didn't really know how one would hold up under torture until actually having gone through it. And Jim's concern about Sheldon's new deputy wasn't unjustified. She'd heard their captors speak of Agent Epsilon and her fellow prisoners spoke of her like she was still onsite; very mysterious. And furthermore, from their reports, this new agent was a seriously sick sociopath.

"Well Jim…I can't promise you that it will be easy," Kim sighed. "The one thing you've got going for you is that you're a civilian and a rich one to boot. That means they'll likely try bribes or something psychological. But Jim, remember that no matter what they show you to get you to talk, you can't break. If I know Betty, she's got Andrea under heavy protection and short of a major operation in and of itself, there's no way they can get to her."

"I…I don't know how you do this Sis."

"Sometimes I don't know either. But mark my words. Very soon Shego will be riding in with the cavalry close behind her."

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

"What does that look like to you Shego?"

It had taken a few hours but that heat bloom had been exactly what Ron and Shego needed to point them in the right direction. Base on Shego's holo-map, the heat bloom had come from the larger cliffs to the left of their LZ. They'd quickly discovered a set of snowmobile tracks and followed them to within five miles of the bloom.

Shego hefted up her scoped crossbow and zeroed in on the location. Now…she could spot at least four bodies, probably more within the structure. The layout was three buildings, one of which was a garage in which Shego could make out a fleet of snowmobiles and other craft designed for traversing snowy terrain.

"Well, Mongolia's gun control isn't the greatest but when I see guards armed with top shelf AK-78 assault rifles and state of the art thermal armor, I'm inclined to think that looks like a security and patrol station under thermal camouflage. Shall we take a look?"

Ron gave a small chuckle and climbed to his feet, shouldering his crossbow. With a click of his heels, the skis shot out of his boots and he began sliding down hill with Shego close behind. After a quick downhill dash, both deactivated their skis and took up a position fifty yards from the facility. Shego drew her binoculars and began taking a closer look. This was interesting. From higher up it looked like just a part of the building but from here, Shego could clearly make out a good sized elevator.

"I think this is it," Shego breathed, crouching behind the snowbank. "I have no idea what caused that heat bloom but this has got to be it. I'm calling it in." Shego activated her headset. "Gulf Juliet Sierra Papa to base. Please come in."

A voice crackled over the receiver. "This is Gulf Juliet Niner-Seven. Go ahead Sierra Papa."

"Shego, I've got insignia on the vehicles," Ron reported, staring at the garage through his scope "It's definitely WEE."

"Gulf Juliet Niner-Seven, we have confirmed WEE presence in our location," Shego replied. "I repeat, we have confirmed WEE presence in our location. Requesting permission to make insertion and investigate further."

"Stand by Sierra," There was a brief pause, likely while they reported to Betty. "Sierra, you are cleared for insertion. Fall back to rally point in three hours for evac. Do you copy?"

Three hours? It'd be tight but doable. The two of them could clear the outpost of threats, then try and get a schematic of the base from the outpost computer. Shego loved WEE missions because literally ANY computer, even in the janitor's office, was a direct line to their central server database. "Affirmative Niner-Seven; we copy; we'll make the rendezvous at 1900."

They now had their work cut out for them. Shego deactivated the headset and unslung her crossbow. She got prone with Ron and began scanning for targets. Now…no telling how many were inside but their immediate concern was the two sentries on the roof of the building. The pair looked to spend sixty seconds at each corner and then move on to the next one. They could bring them down…then take cover behind that arctic transport. That would provide a decent field of fire to eliminate the guard at the motor pool and the mechanic preparing the snowmobile.

"Okay, here's what we do," Shego whispered to Ron. "You take the one on the right. I take the one on the left. On my go, we make for the transport, drop beneath, I'll take the guard, you the mechanic. Wade," Shego keyed up a communication to their eyes and ears. "Any idea what we're looking at when we get inside?"

"My thermal scans show another three inside," Wade reported. "Two on the ground floor and one in the second."

"You feel like going mystical monkey Ron?"

So they had a plan. Shego focused on her target. There was no wind but the arrow would still have roughly a three second flight time. So…anticipate and she'd have it. As she focused, time appeared to slow, as was typical for Shego in circumstances like this.

"Ready…aim…fire!"

There was a quiet thump as Shego pulled the trigger and she quickly spotted the plastic fletching streaking through the air. In the blink of an eye, the arrow struck true and Shego saw the sentry fall backwards.

Shego leapt up, not even needing to look to know that Ron was behind her, and bolted for the transport. Plastering herself back against one of the treads, Shego cranked the bowstring back.

"I've got the guard, you the mechanic," Shego breathed, drawing and loading another arrow. "You ready?" Ron nodded and the pair threw themselves under the transport and took aim. Two more thumps and two more downed agents.

"Alright Monkey Boy," Shego huffed, making a mad dash to the door of the main building. "Go do your stuff."

Shego stopped at the door and ignited a single finger in plasma and began carving around the lock. As she cut, she couldn't help but think about what she'd just said to Ron. Looking back on their encounters over the years…wow! If Ron had ever decided to go solo as a superhero…Monkey Boy had to be one of the lamest superhero names there ever was. Being second banana to Kimmie…that had to be one of the luckiest things ever to happen to Ron.

The lock slid smoothly out of the hole Shego had carved and began to sizzle as it hit the snowy ground.

_Qui-Gon Jin's got NOTHING on me!_

Ever so slightly, she nudged the door open and peered inside. Sure enough, there were two uniformed men in the building. One looked to be doing paperwork at his desk and the other…ha…the dumb yutz was actually playing Tetris. Shame on him for playing video games on company time! Shego would be remiss if she didn't take the time to reeducate this man on proper work ethic. She drew a pistol version of the fletchet rifle she had holstered at her hip and took careful aim. The man doing paperwork shivered and looked up. Crap; he must've felt the draft from the open door. Shego quickly redirected her sidearm and popped the paper pusher in the chest.

"I was NOT playing Tetris Wendell," Mr. Game-on-company-time squawked, bringing something work related on screen. "You can't prove that I was!"

The poor schmuck didn't even turn around, catching a fletchet to the back of the head and collapsed over his keyboard. Shego hopped over the desk and over to the stairs, peeking around the corners. She was just in time to see Ron fly through the window and deliver a swift kick to the man's head.

"I gots MAD foo skills," Ron boasted, landing smoothly on his feet.

"What is it with you and catch phrases Stoppable?" Shego sighed as the pair dashed back down the stairs to the ground level. "And that whole 'theme song' when you and Kimmie were in high school…?"

"Well what's with YOUR family and a supreme lack of vision for marketing?" Ron pouted, standing next to Shego as she sat down at the computer terminal. Plugging the Shegophone into the terminal, Wade's face appeared on the small screen as his system burrowed into the WEE database like a prairie dog. Within a few minutes, Wade had established a digital beachhead and was able to download a full schematic of the base, complete with security measures. That left Ron to secure transportation while Shego made the insertion into the base. She trekked through the first floor until she found the elevator entrance. Using the security card she'd swiped from Tetris boy, the elevator doors slid open and Shego climbed in.

"Okay Shego," Wade began as the doors closed. "This place is about ten levels deep but this elevator only goes to the fourth level. There's a vent just above the third floor where you can make your insertion."

Okay, where was the maintenance hatch? Spying it in the corner, Shego hit the button for the third floor and climbed through the hatch, settling on top of the elevator car. Now she had to wait. It was a slow ride but eventually the steel grate Shego had been waiting for appeared. Shego heard voices beneath her, prompting her to act quickly. With the delicate steps of a ballet dancer, Shego leapt over to the grate and effortlessly detached it from the wall. The elevator had just begun lowering as Shego lifted herself into the vent.

"Okay Shego; the first leg is forty feet straight ahead. Be careful though; there's a slight drop at the end."

Shego crawled forward and sure enough there was a drop. Shifting around until she was feet first, Shego lowered herself down. Wow…Shego was only a few years away from the big 4-0 and she was still as limber and lithe as when she and Kimmie first traded blows. How many women could still boast that? Shego was actually pretty proud of herself right then.

"Alright Wade; where to now?"

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

"I will be interrogating Kim Possible MYSELF!"

The words were clear as day to Shego, even in the ventilation shaft, and not just because it was about Kimmie. She knew that voice. She wasn't entirely sure where thanks to what had to be one Hell of a vocal scrambler, but she'd definitely heard that female voice somewhere before.

"Agent Epsilon, Agent Beta is growing very impatient with the fact that you haven't turned over such a high value target. He's instructed me to make it abundantly clear that…"

"You tell that insignificant insect that if it wasn't for me, for my planning this mission down to a 'T', he'd be stuck with this head up his ass. My orders come directly from Gemini himself and I DAMN well won't take any mouth from Beta!"

Shego could hear scuffling coming from beneath her but wasn't entirely sure that she wanted to know what was going on. So this was Agent Epsilon, the deep dark behind Sheldon's unusual competence on this mission?

"Wade, what's my position?"

"According to my chart, you're about five feet above the base commander's office."

"Gotcha; I'm gonna record a snippet and I need you to analyze it."

"No problem, but wait to transmit till you get to the surface though," Wade cautioned. "I need a vocal sample to be 100% intact at the time of transmission and the mountain could degrade the signal.

Shego pulled out the Shegophone and hit "record".

"Let me make something abundantly clear to you Captain," Agent Epsilon barked. "That bitch has been the bane of my existence for longer than you can comprehend…and I finally have her in my hands once again. I am going to savor every moment of emotional and physical torment that will be inflicted on her. And then, I'll turn to that freak mate and those mongrel brats they've produced! I will HURT them in every way that they fear…and I will make Possible watch, watch while she is completely powerless to stop me! Then and ONLY then will I allow her the gift of death"

_Bring it on Bitch_, Shego thought to herself, pocketing the phone with a good recording sample.

It took every ounce of control and will power not to begin raining down fiery Hell on that walking corpse. Shego's moral crisis back on the plane didn't seem quite so critical when listening to such a casual disregard for human life, even for a villain. Drakken, Monty, the Seniors, all of them would've rather cut off their hands with a rusty hack saw than knowingly attack children. Sometimes there were casualties with their operations…but innocent bystanders were never deliberately targeted. It was just bad form. This…creature…hell, she should probably call up Monty and the Council and see if they wanted in on the beat down that was sure to ensue.

_But not till my princess is safe in my arms!_

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

"Wade? I'm having trouble reading you."

"Shego…trouble…must…interference…right over…detention center C."

Okay…there was something causing interference with the signal. That much she could make out. There weren't any security measures nearby so they couldn't have picked her up. Wade had said something about being near the detention block. He'd said that the shaft would take her right over the cells so the next grate should be her stopping point. Taking a deep breath, Shego crawled the last few feet. Going through the vents as far as she did would be a work out in and of itself but unless it was her imagination, the temperature had been rising steadily the further she went through the vents.

Shego hauled herself over the grate…and there she was! Lying asleep on a metal slab was her wife! She…she had to get down there. This grate wasn't going anywhere easily, not with the detention cells being just below. Sheldon wasn't THAT stupid. Like with the base door, Shego concentrated her plasma into a single fingertip and sliced through the metal bars like butter. One by one, Shego pried loose each bar and laid them aside, revealing a strange wall of energy. She had one more bar to…CRAP! The last remaining bar slipped from her fingers and touched that glowing blue energy field and began sizzling. Without warning, the metal bar shot up, embedding in the ceiling above. The seconds slowly ticked by and Shego slowly realized that an alarm hadn't sounded. And what's more, when she peaked back over the edge, those emerald eyes of knee weakening beauty were staring directly back at her.

"Kimmie," Shego breathed. "Oh thank you GOD! Can you hear me?"

No response; whatever that barrier was, it was also evidently sound proof. How was she going to get him out of this? At most, she had about six inches of clearance between the ceiling and the energy field, so…wait a minute. Kim seemed to be motioning to her. She had…were those spoons she was holding? She was making a jabbing motion towards the energy field. Shego grabbed two of the metal bars she'd sheered away and mimicked the motion. The field began crackling, the metal bars feeling like they were being pushed back into Shego's grip, but Shego could see that she needed to bring the bars together in a point.

"Push," It was incredibly faint but Shego could just make it out. "Push down and pull them apart."

Shego pushed down…and actually felt the bars sliding down into the field. Now…now she needed to pull them apart. It was like pulling through half dried concrete but the bars slowly began giving way.

"Oh God Eme; I've never been so glad to see anyone in my life."

Music; the voice was like music to Shego's ears. She was okay; her Kimmie, Princess of Shego's heart and her greatest wish was okay.

"Oh Kimmie," Despite her objections, a joyous tear slid down Shego's cheek and splashed onto Kim's forehead, "You know…_sniff_…there's a _Star Wars_ joke to be made here."

"And you're just the Jedi to make it Eme," Kimmie cooed back, blowing her a kiss. "Mighty Jedi, your Princess has been lost without your soothing embrace."

"Oh you have GOT to be kidding," Jim groaned, slumping back onto the slab he'd been sleeping on. "I'm being held prisoner AND I've got to listen to my sister and her lesbian wife flirt in my cell? I'm fine too by the way Shego!"

Okay…admittedly, in the joy of seeing her princess again, Shego had utterly forgotten Jim was in the same cell. Had the roles been reversed or it had been one of HER brothers flirting with their wives while SHE was waiting to be rescued, she'd have hurled a plasma ball into the opening just to get them to shut up.

"Have you guys been hurt? What's the situation?"

"Kim's likely got a cracked rib," Jim reported. "And so help me Shego, if the next words out of your mouth are an offer to kiss it and make it better…I'm likely going to have a brain aneurism."

She'd probably deserved that. A thought just occurred to her though. "Kim…is there surveillance in here?"

"No, we're good. The energy field knocks out any tech."

Well that explained the interference on the Shegophone. "That's a relief," Shego sighed. "Listen both of you; I overheard the base commander saying that she was saving the two of you for herself…"

"Eme, she's the one behind this whole thing. The others in here say she's Sheldon's new Agent Epsilon. Now, does Betty have a rescue in the works?"

"She's calling in every asset in the region," Shego assured. "2000 commandos and two squadrons of Raptors set to attack as soon as Ron and I get back." But…what if this sociopath got her hands on Kim or Jim before then? If Shego could just pin the bar to the wall with her foot…and if she could reach the holster at her back…AHAH! "Kimmie, take this. If that bitch dares putt a hand on you, I want you to go Wyatt Earp on her," She dropped the fletchet pistol down and smiled when Kim caught it.

As if on cue, a siren began blaring. Damn it; things had been going too well!

"Eme, you've got to get out of here."

Well…there was no way she'd be able to get them out through here anyway. "Guys…I promise you I'll be back and when I do…"

"Shego," Kim begged. "The door to the hanger is on the west side of the mountain. Go through the main door and neutralize the armory at the end of the hall. From there, two floors down is us."

"And you," Shego replied, fixing Kim with a longing stare. "24 hours; in 24 hours, I want my little wildcat to show them the meaning of pain."

"Oh for the love of GOD," Jim squawked. "Please kill me now!"

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

Ron's heart leapt when Shego emerged from the elevator. Wade had been reporting that there was interference with Shego's signal and when Wade's hack had been detected and the sirens started blaring, Ron had half a mind to go in after her. But just as he'd made the move towards the elevator, the doors slid open and out swung Shego, holding onto the elevator cable for dear life.

"There's going to be an explosion in just a second," Shego breathed, motioning for Ron to help her get the doors closed.

Sure enough, when they reached the door to the outside, the building was rocked by a violent tremor. Detaching the elevator car from the cable; always a favorite of Shego's even in and Kim's high school days. The two burst out into the snowy ground and Ron led her to the pair of Polaris snowmobiles he'd parked by the door.

"Did you find Kim?"

"No chance of getting her out with me," Even though she'd tried to hide it, Ron could detect the regret in his comrade's voice. "Our suspicions were right though. There's a new Agent Epsilon, the base commander. She's behind this whole thing, the hidden hand in all of this. I managed to catch a few snippets of conversation and…she's got to be someone we've come across before. She had a voice scrambler but even so, I KNOW I've heard that voice somewhere before."

And those would have to be helicopters coming across the horizon, and Mil MI-17s by the look of them. Now was likely not the best time for a debriefing. Both threw their snowmobiles into gear and took off for the clearing where they landed. With any luck, they'd be able to make the quick route down before WEE managed to close it off.

"Gulf Juliet Niner-Seven, we have confirmed that site is our tango," Shego radioed in, looking back at the choppers and now snowmobiles on their tail. "I repeat, we have confirmed the location of Kilo Papa."

"We read you Sierra Papa," a voice crackled back. "Good work; are you secure?"

Shego threw her snowmobile into a turn, narrowly avoiding a shower of .50 caliber rounds. "Negative Niner-Zero; that's a BIG negative; we are under fire and in need of assistance."

"Roger that Sierra. KUH-1 Surion attack choppers are enroot to your location; ETA two minutes."

Hopefully they could survive for two minutes. Shego lobbed a plasma ball behind her, thankfully seeing one of the other snowmobiles toppling over into a copse of trees. They needed some cover and fast or they were never going to make it.

"Two minutes Ron," Shego quickly switched to a local channel. "We need to buy some time. Any ideas?"

"Uhh…you see that boulder at your 11 o'clock?"

She'd have to time it perfectly. This would be tricky enough without causing an avalanche. If she could knock loose the bolder and a few chunks of ice into the propellers, that might be sufficient motivation to keep their distance. Peeking back, she gauged the distance to be about 30 yards behind them. Distance to the formation was maybe ten yards. She ignited a plasma ball and hurled it just as they approached the base.

…_CRUNCH…_

She chanced a look back in time to see a hunk of ice go through the lead chopper's wind shield. The three behind narrowly avoided the collision but all had taken the message and pulled back. Both snowmobiles broke through the trees into the clearing…just in time to see at least a dozen transports cresting the opposite edge of the clearing.

"This isn't good SP," Ron gasped.

This indeed wasn't good! They'd converge on the slope down inside thirty seconds and things would get quite hairy. Shego was about to ditch caution and start lobbing plasma in all directions, maybe they could escape in the chaos if she could cause enough…when like a voice from Heaven, Shego heard a Korean accent come over the radio.

"Global Justice Agents, we shall cover your escape," The pilot haled. "Bank right and leave these dwaeji to us."

"Global Justice acknowledges and you are welcome to them," Talk about coming through in a clinch! It was one of the most welcome sights in years, those four choppers rising from behind the oblivious transports. A volley of missiles shot out and Shego heaved her snowmobile to the south.

"Hey Ron," Shego huffed, holding back a peal of laughter.

"Yeah Shego?"

"We're riding speeder bikes across the planet Hoth."

_Author's Notes:_

_This one took me a while to bring to an end, wanting to set so much up for later chapters. I really had a lot of fun though writing Shego and Kim's brief reunion and the ensuing kissy faces that Jim had to suffer through. Kim Possible was always such a Saturday morning cartoon hero that even the villains I can't help but think had a line that they didn't cross. We're getting close to Agent Epsilon's unmasking and I hope you're all enjoying it thus far._

_RIP James Garner. You were an inspiration that brought joy to so many people and will be a tremendous loss to entertainment. Who is the tall dark stranger there? Maverick is the name!_


	10. Chapter 10

Betty let out a silent cheer as the Chinook touched down on the tarmac outside Ft. Durango. She knew it had been a slim hope to get Kim out on this run but…DAMN, she felt good right now! According to the initial reports, not only had Mr. Load managed to get a complete layout of the facility, but prisoner manifest, numbers they'd be facing, placement of defensive systems down to the last camera. And Prime Minister Pak Joung had been so willing to lend South Korea's support to the operation that her old friend had actually thanked her for the honor of being included.

The embarkation ramp clanked to the floor and a thoroughly determined looking Shego marched down with Stoppable in tow.

"You look like you're ready for more," Betty commented, thumping her on the shoulder and falling in beside her. "You made contact with Kim? How is she?"

"A little bruised but she and I have seen far worse," Shego answered, not losing her stride. "Jim didn't seem to have a scratch on him. I…I promised them a 24 hour wait. Are we on schedule?"

"Hell, we're on track and actually AHEAD of schedule," Betty bragged as the trio stepped through the main doors into the base. "I've got someone I want you guys to meet before we get started."

She led them back to the CIC where they were met by two uniformed officers, one male and the other female, both wearing the uniform of the Republic of Korea Army. Sizing up the new officers, Shego spotted the black berets slid under the epaulettes; South Korean Special Forces? They were being aided by the flippin SWC? Just how much of a friend WAS the South Korean PM with Betty?

Shego Possible, Ron Stoppable, allow me to introduce Colonel Ujin Woo and Captain Subin Kim of the Special Warfare Command. They're going to be giving us a hand."

The Colonel and Captain bowed to Shego and Ron, voicing their honor at the meeting and Shego and Ron returned the gesture. "The honor is mine Colonel, Captain; the reputation of the SWC is the stuff of legend," replied Shego.

After the greetings, Betty led them to the central console. According to Betty, her subordinates were already briefing their units on the main assault as she spoke. The plan was actually relatively simple. While 1500 commandos dropped into the mountains and made the initial assault, drawing the main body of enemy forces out into a pitched fight, a combined GJ/SWC strike force would descend directly on the base itself, making an insertion via the hanger.

"How are we going to get through?" Shego inquired. She'd studied the base layout on the return trip and the armor around that section was plenty thick.

"Well my idiot brother isn't the only one who's been doing some tinkering with lasers," Betty smirked and made the base hologram disappear and replaced it with a blueprint for some kind of aerial vehicle. "Say hello to the future."

Shego studied the device closer and…they'd…they'd done it? They'd actually completed it? "Betty…since when had you completed the Archangel?"

"Ladies and gentlemen, meet the Archangel flight suit," She continued, "Courtesy of our friends at Lockheed Martin and Mr. and Mrs. Load. As I said, fifty of these little beauties will make the insertion into the hanger," The small tip of the suit was highlighted. "Three of the suits are equipped with a combat laser capable of cutting through any metal currently on the periodic table. Shego, Colonel Woo, and myself will slice an opening in the hanger doors and lead the crew into the chamber. We'll open the doors to make way for our air strip strike team enroot from Thailand, rounding out the 2000 strong fighting force."

"Forgive me Director," Colonel Woo interrupted. "But isn't that an unnecessary risk? Surely Agent Possible and I can command the assault without you having to risk your life."

"I appreciate your concern Colonel," Betty replied. "I have the utmost faith in your abilities but as your Prime Minister will tell you, when we go into battle, she and I are always with those we command, with them where the metal meets the meat."

Shego couldn't exactly argue with that. Betty had partially blamed herself for Kim's current predicament, despite Shego's vehement objections and reassurances, and any outside observer would say that made her emotionally compromised. But who was she trying to kid? Kimmie and Jim were family. If anybody was emotionally compromised, it was her. Betty…Betty was a true leader and even at age 47, she was still a world class ass-kicker.

"Now Shego, you're sure there's no way to communicate with Kim or any of the other prisoners?"

"Unfortunately that's correct," Shego sighed, bringing the base map back up and zooming in on the detention block where Kim was currently held, "According to my brother-in-law, the cell is essentially a self-contained electromagnetic pulse; no functioning electronics within the cell blocks. It prevents WEE bugging it but also eliminates any chance of radio contact."

"Can we kill the power to the prisons?" Ron asked. "We free thirty people in the middle of a firefight and that's opening up a third front."

"No good," Betty replied. "The prisons have their own generators located within the tenth level of the mountain. The vents to the surface are all shielded."

"What…what do you do about the base commander?" It had been the elephant in the room but Shego couldn't ignore it anymore. "She said that she'd be interrogating Kim and Jim personally."

"Which is why once we secure the armory, you will take a five person squad and head directly to the detention block," Betty brought up a section of Level Six. "Apprehend her, kill her, but END her!" Betty looked at each of the attendants. "Any further questions?"

The briefing ended and the Korean officers retreated to speak to their troops. SWC? Shego still couldn't believe it. Competition was abundant but the Republic of Korea SW were some of the best guerilla fighters she knew of. "How the hell did you swing SWC support?" She clapped her old friend on the shoulder. "Heck, sometimes an act of Parliament isn't even enough."

"Well…it's kind of a funny story," Betty began, leading Shego out of the CIC to Betty's temporary office. "We're…well…it's kind of embarrassing but I guess you could call us…sorority sisters for lack of a better term."

"Uhhhh…didn't you…graduate from Annapolis?"

"Well they weren't OFFICIAL," Betty squawked in defense. "But…she was a student exchange and we…well…the Sisterhood of Andraste are bonded forever."

"Awwww, that's so cute," Shego teased, pinching her friend's cheek. "You were a sorority sister. Did you have slumber parties?"

"Look who's talking Miss Martha Stewart Junior," Betty shot back. "Things weren't exactly easy for female students in those early days," Betty's face took on a serious note. "They were ten times worse in South Korea. That's kind of why some friends and I founded the Sisterhood. A Sister of Andraste can go longer, fight harder, and wouldn't rest while the honor of the Sisterhood was tarnished by an outsider…namely the meatheads that still give the military a bad name. We never went anywhere alone and always had a camera or recorder to collect evidence of sexual assault."

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

Shego's appearance had been new life. It wasn't exactly easy to tell time in a cell but very soon, Jim would be on his way back to Boston and Kim…Kim would be holding Gracie in her arms and never let her or any of her other family members go. Why hadn't she thought to ask Shego about the Muffin? Still, if…Shego would've been in an absolute fury if the worst had happened. Of that, Kim was absolutely sure. By her reckoning, that had been nearly 22 hours ago. In that time, their captors had done everything in their power to worm any information out of them connected to the "failed rescue attempt"…but had still left Kim and Jim untouched.

Looking at her brother doing his best to sleep, Kim had this feeling that their turn was coming. And timing it against the expected rescue…it was going to be close. Eme's warnings about this new Agent Epsilon, the descriptions her fellow "Caged Birds" had given her, warnings that Jim had heard as well…Kim had endured torture and knew what she could take but if Jim tried to do something stupid to save Kim during the rescue…Kim never thought she'd long for the days when she and he were at each other's throats.

"Anya," Kim sighed as a thought struck her. "Is our babysitter otherwise occupied?"

"Yes comrade," She confirmed. "Imbecile is losing at cards."

"May I have a private word?"

"With brother too?"

"It's fine if he hears. Open a door for me?"

Anya agreed and once out of her own cell, Kim made a mad dash for her friend's cell. She and Anya hadn't had much time together and Kim was quickly greeted with a warm hug. Anya jabbed her brother in the ribs as motivation to make room for their guest.

"I…I need you both to do something for me," Kim began, drawing the fletchet pistol and handing it to Anya. "If I'm taken…and let's face it, I'll be taken any time now; when the attack starts, I need you both to MAKE Jim go with you."

"Kimberly, I…we…we can't leave you to the mercies…or lack thereof, of that…that…svynya!"

Damn it; it had been a slim hope of keeping them away, especially such good friends as the Reznovs. "Anya, friend, I…I know I can't keep you from…from helping. But I beg you, the both of you, in the name of Christ, please see to it that my brother is safe. His wife is expecting their first child and…please?"

The siblings seemed to be able to speak volumes in a single glance. Many had said the same of Kim and Shego, but right now…Kim didn't care much for wordless conversations in her presence. Sasha was the first to break eye contact.

"We…we will secure your brother's safety, of that I swear," Sasha turned his sapphire blue gaze on Kim. "But you say that you cannot leave your sister-in-law to be a vdova, a widow. Well I…NONE of us will leave Shego to suffer the same fate. Each of us has suffered at her hands and I myself want pomsta, what you call vengeance!"

That was likely the best Kim could hope for, given the circumstances. WEE knew something was up and that Shego had been involved. Kim could stand up to anything that they could dish out. But Jim, by the time she fought back, Jim would be perfectly safe.

She wasn't sure how much time had gone by but she was fairly certain that she needed to get back to her own cell. Sasha opened a hole in the field, stepping aside so that Kim could climb out. Drawing her spoons, Kim jammed them into her own cell. She looked back towards Anya and Sasha's cell…and leapt through the hole as quickly as possible. Had…had they…seen? For the briefest moment, she thought she saw one of the guards looking in her direction. How could she be so fucking careless? They were in the home stretch and she let something like this happen? Kim slid onto her "bed" and shoved the spoons under her tattered jacket.

"Possible, our esteemed Agent Epsilon would like a few words with you."

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

Jim had been asleep. Thank goodness for small mercies once again. Still no indication as to whether or not the guards had seen Kim out of her cell though. She spied no additional guards heading towards the cells. That was an indication in her favor, wasn't it? She had to be in observation mode once again. What could she spy that could be of use? She'd counted exactly the number of paces thus far, 91 paces, up a level, turn right and 20 paces more brought her to another armory. 14 paces, a left turn, then a further 27 paces and she was treated to a grand view of the communications room. Many places to hide and many places more that could prove useful in a blitz out, but no blitz out would occur without a little more intelligence gathering and a bit of interrogation of her own. That was the trick with any interrogation. With a few choice questions and a few of Shego's "mind tricks" and this "Agent Epsilon" would be spilling her guts while carrying on in the blissful fog of superiority. And with most of these "guards" handling her with kid gloves, this could almost end up being kind of fun.

The group of five came to a halt in the center of what Kim estimated was level six of the complex. If they had any brains between them, her captors HAD to know she was building a mental map every time they took her and comrades out of their cells. A nearby chronograph showed it to be nearly six in the evening. Good; the attack should be within the hour. She'd make a break for the utility room down the hal and to the right. From there she could jump a passing guard, securing a weapon, and make her way to the armory one level directly down.

"Agent Epsilon wishes you to bring the prisoner in immediately."

The two guards at the rear ushered her in, two gun barrels pressed firmly at her back. Now she needed to survey this new obstacle. Even after barely six seconds, Kim had to cringe, feeling like she'd stepped into a chapter of Machiavelli. Iron and steel-forged weapons lined the black and red walls. That could indeed prove useful. The artwork…if you could call it that…the artwork adorned the walls depicted nearly every tyrant and madman in Western History, almost as if part of an altar. Kim wouldn't have been surprised but was thankful to see the absence of Hitler and Stalin.

Wait a minute…NONE of these portraits were of political dictators and tyrants. Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI, John I and Charles I of England, Caligula, Nero; all of these rulers were ones who had to learn the hard way that you couldn't live in luxury at the expense of the people. This Agent Epsilon was an aristocrat…or at least like to think she was. That had to be it! She was a wannabe in the truest sense of the word. Looking towards the desk, spying the back of her desk chair, slowly turning and…what…the…Hell…was…this?

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this!"

That voice; it…it was gravellier than she remembered. But she would know that voice anywhere.

"It was you!"

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

It wasn't like Shego had never piloted a jet pack before. God knew that she'd been on the receiving end of Kimmie's in their youth. But this…this was just plain AWESOME! This was a rush even by her standards. While Kimmie's original pack had been collapsible, designed to fit into her backpack, the Lockheed Martin Archangel was a fixed wing harness with controls so effortless that it almost felt like they were controlled telepathically. It almost reminded her of that zero-turn mower Wade had gotten her as a "white elephant" Christmas present. Only Wade would give a lawn mower as a gag gift.

"Sparrow flight," Betty's voice crackled over Shego's headset. "This is Sparrow Leader. We are three minutes out from target. Sparrows Two and Three form up on me and prepare to execute insertion."

This was going to get mighty interesting. Shego, Betty, and Colonel Woo circled up and began circling around each other like an aerial acrobatic troupe. Betty gave the order to ignite the lasers mounted on their packs. Her helmet illuminated any excess noise but Shego blinked as a piercing red beam shot out from between her shoulder blades. They kept up the motion for close to sixty seconds when Betty gave the order to kill the lasers and for Sparrow flight to prepare for a hostile welcome.

Shego could see in her HUD the hole they'd drilled, twenty feet across. She had only a minute but she let go of one of the controls and charged a plasma ball. This particular ability always required a good deal of concentration. She loosed the plasma in a long beam instead of a ball. The beam flew true and the explosion subsided just as the first of them made the insertion.

Shego killed the thrusters and landed with a thump, roughly keeping her feet but…she'd feel that collision with the chopper in the morning! Those in the hanger were taken by surprise, most of them taken clean off their feet, but that wouldn't last. The harness clattered to the ground and Shego immediately leapt into a fighting stance. One of the hanger techs staggered to his feet and was quickly put back down with a swift kick to the head.

"I think you'll be more comfortable on the ground," Shego barked, throwing off her helmet.

"We've got five minutes," Betty shouted. "Shego, take your squad and get those doors open. The rest of you, secure the hanger."

"Beta Squad follow me," Shego called out as she took off for the higher levels.

It would be tight but she could do it. Shego had hacked systems under far worse conditions a lot quicker. By the look of the windows, the lasers had cut clean into the command center. If her team could be quick, they could take out what forces remained before they could bring up the base encryptions. Igniting her hands in plasma, she took off up the stairs, her ten-person team hot on her heels.

"Flash grenades on my mark," Shego stopped just short of the top. "Three…two…one!"

…_CRASH…_

…_BOOM…_

…_BANG…_

Stepping into the control room, there were only stunned bodies. The squad took care of them, allowing Shego to make a bee line for the central console. And they HAND'T got the encryption up. Not to steal Ron's line but BOOYAH! Entering a few quick keystrokes, the massive hanger doors began to retract, leaving a wide open path for their reinforcements.

Kim; now that her initial part of the mission was over, Shego's thoughts focused like the laser beam that had too recently carved through the armored doors on the well-being of her wife. She had to leave Kim behind once and she would NOT do that again. Pulling five of her team, she returned to the landing floor and faced the door.

Now…what did Kimmie say; something about an armory directly at the end of this hall? Two of her commandos heaved the main doors open and sure enough, two guards were standing in front of a locked and sealed room. Without missing a beat, two three-round bursts rang past and the guards fell to the ground. Looking around at her surroundings…yes, her plasma likely wouldn't be the weapon of choice in such closed quarters. Running up and swiped one of the fallen guards' keycards through the reader. The door slid open, revealing a wide array of weapons of all sizes and classes.

"Everybody grab an extra weapon," Looking around through the vast selection, Shego settled on a Kel-Tec KSG Shotgun and a bandoleer of 12-guage slugs. "There's a few comrades one level down who could do with a few presents."

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

"You think you can fucking STOP me? She's my sister!"

He'd been up for hours…he'd…he'd only planned on sleeping for a short while…a little catnap before the escape. But Kim…it HAD to be then that they would come for her! The battle erupting outside had been enough to jar him out of his sleep, even buried deep within the mountain. And Kim was gone and in her place was Anya Reznov, holding the fletchet pistol Shego had left for them. He couldn't believe what he was hearing!

"James, her best hope of succeeding is if we can keep you out of Agent Epsilon's hands" Anya barked, fixing Jim with a steely glare. "As long as she's alone…all Agent Epsilon needs to do is torture you in front of her and she'll crack like an egg. Listen to that," The walls continued to shake from the explosions outside. "Our job is to get you to THEM!"

Jim…damn it; Jim couldn't argue with that. Every movie he'd ever seen, every book he'd ever read that involved situations like this…he…he was a potential crack in his sister's armor. But…ARGH! He couldn't leave her…

"SVYNYA ARE COMING IN!" Sasha shouted.

Before any of them could react, two guards were at their cell. The pair of them…was that confusion? It looked like the simple act of discovering one prisoner in another's cell was like a club to the head, the only thing to jar them out of their stupor was another impact tremor. The barrier was deactivated and one of the guards grabbed Jim by the scruff of the neck and hammered him against the wall. He barked something in Russian and hammered the butt of his rifle into Jim's back. The guard repeated his order and…

…BANG…BANG…

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

…SMACK…

"This is you beaten Possible. This is me beating you once and for all! And I make a solemn vow that this is only the beginning!"

Kim spit out the blood from the last blow, never taking her gaze off the woman, never showing an ounce of pain. Damn the consequences. All these years since that day, she'd barely even thought of her. And then, out of the blue, Kim was once again in her clutches…if you could call it that.

"Ha…you haven't changed a bit," Kim growled. "Keeping your cheerleading uniform in that case like some sort of trophy…that's got to be the most pathetic thing I've ever seen. Bonnie Rockwaller, if you really consider THAT to be the defining…"

"SHUT UP!"

Kim got another back hand to the face.

"You always were easy to taunt," Kim spat out a few more crops of blood. "I could name a few Ancient Greeks who had the same problem. I mean we've all moved on and you hopelessly cling to…"

"I SAID SHUT UP!" She barked. But instead of once again giving Kim the back of her hand, she marched over to the wall and unsheathed a katana. Kim could see that…well…it was indeed quite sharp. "You sent me to Hell!"

"Are you kidding me? You nearly killed me and were going to…"

"I was a QUEEN, a Goddess to my people!"

Was…was she SERIOUS? She thought she was a fucking QUEEN? This crazy bitch made Drakken…hell, even Sheldon Director himself look downright humble. "Oh for Heaven's SAKE; if THIS is going to be your monologue, please show me mercy and just kill me NOW!"

"But in that Hell, Possible," She continued on, running a thumb down the smooth metal of the blade oblivious to Kim's retort. "I learned. I learned from people whose hatred of you was matched by my one. I learned to fight, swordsmanship, strategy, anything I could that might one day help me make you suffer. And word of me began to spread…"

"Funny because I really hadn't thought of you until just now so…obviously didn't spread very far…"

The pair was interrupted by a great rumble then the room shook. Oh…oh that sound was sweet MUSIC to her ears. That was most definitely a mortar shell impacting into the mountain. It had begun! In the blink of an eye, the impacts became MUCH more frequent.

Without warning, an officer burst into the office in a panic. "Ma'am, we…we're under attack. Thirty helicopters just landed and their troops are attacking as we speak. Radar is tracking several squadrons of enemy fighters and…"

"What do you do with flies, underling?" Bonnie barked.

"The situation is worse than that ma'am. A small force has penetrated the hanger. They've managed to disable all…"

Was that…music?

_I'm waking up to ash and dust._

_I wipe my brow and sweat my rust._

_I'm breathing…the chemicals._

It was a little faint to start out but grew louder; that…that was "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons, the first on Kim's workout list. Shego…no…she…she couldn't?

_I'm breaking in, shaping, then checking out on the prison bus_

_This is it…the Apocalypse_

Oh YES she could! Even in Kim's current predicament, she couldn't help but laugh. Shego was here, in the building! And her little minx of a wife was actually giving her a FIGHT SONG!

"Sort it out," Bonnie hissed. She turned a finger on the guards holding Kim in place. "You two, go silence that noise."

This was it! Kim had waited long enough. Cuffing her hands behind her back in a seated position? That was too good an opportunity that was simply too good to pass up. How many times had Nana told her? _Never cuff someone in a seated position with their hands behind their back. It makes it impossible to see the hands._ Even now, she could hear Nana's words of warning. Kim's deft fingers went to work on the steel handcuffs, the only remaining obstacle to her opening up some SERIOUS whoop-ass! Now that she thought about it, what was with the cuffs? With all the tech and resources at WEEs disposal, you'd have expected Sheldon to spring for something a bit more advanced. But he, why look a gift horse in the mouth?

Bonnie walked up and snapped a cut on Kim's cheek, drawing her sidearm with her free hand. "I will take you piece by piece," Okay…Kim wasn't ashamed to admit that the second slice to Kim's left arm hurt a little. "Until the only thing left for that freak to find is your mangled corpse. You…you took everything from me! I…was going to be rich…and powerful…and loved by all…and the Mighty Kim Possible…ruined…my…life! I…I'm going to make…you…make you…PAY!"

Okay, Kim had just about gotten the cuffs off but she needed an opening to make a grab for the gun. And by the sounds of Bonnie's talk, it had to be fast. Her already fragile grip on reality was starting to slip even further. Kim hadn't quite worked out her course of action when and if she could get the gun. It was a slim hope but…Kim had to at least TRY to reason with her, if only to buy time. "Bonnie, this has to stop. Global Justice is here in force and when they take the base, they will kill…"

"You just don't understand, do you Possible," Bonnie growled. "I don't care what happens to me. This…ALL of this," She gestured around the room, meaning the whole base, "This was just to get me into position. I had PLANNED on your pain being far greater, bearing witness as I stripped your brother of his flesh, witnessing helplessly as my men had their fun with that mongrel freak you brought into this world, and that wasn't even mentioning her siblings."

Kim's hands doubled their efforts. Her…her heart was like ice. Over the years, in her heart of hearts, she felt like she could one day forgive Bonnie for everything that had happened that day in high school. She always believed and taught her children that forgiveness was the most powerful tool that they could possess and the greatest gift that they could give. But all of that disappeared with Bonnie's words. Damn an opening; the minute Kim got the cuffs off…

"But in the end, I'll gladly settle for.."

…_click…_

…_BOOM…_

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

Blood and grey matter splattered the walls and sizzled on the barriers as Shego chambered another round and lowered her shotgun to her side. Had she been a fraction of a second slower in coming in…but she wasn't.

"Thank you for using Team Possible and Global Justice Rescues," Shego laughed as she swaggered in. "We know you have no choice in the matter but we appreciate your business nonetheless."

One or two of the prisoners Shego had managed to save staggered to her feet and Shego quickly recognized Anya Reznov. The barriers were deactivated and Shego was nearly knocked off her feet by Sasha running to his sister's side. Those two really did make one Hell of a team…and they'd do anything for each other.

Satisfied that there were no other guards, Shego left the remainder of the prisoners to her troops and ran towards Kimmie and Jim's cell. That had been where the guards had been roughing up Anya and…and Shego found only Jim climbing out from under the body of one of the guards Shego had shot. Her protective instincts went into overdrive and she began checking her brother-in-law for wounds.

"Jim? Jim…are you okay? Tell me where you're hit."

Jim had been stunned to say the least. But once getting over the initial shock of seeing his sister-in-law ride to the rescue, he'd at least been able to say that the blood was entirely that of his captors. Kim had been taken a short time ago, no way of telling for sure, to the Base Commander's office.

"Wade, I need a location on Kimmie ASAP," Shego keyed up a call to Wade and turned towards the door.

"No problem; I've got her biometric ID up now. She's three levels up and directly across from your current location," Wade's steady voice was actually rather calming. "I'm reading an elevated heartbeat, high levels of adrenaline…whatever's going on in there, Kim's fighting hard."

_THAT'S_ _my girl_, Shego thought with pride. She didn't expect anything less from her warrior goddess. _Don't worry Princess; help is on the way_.

Only…going across three levels littered with guards wasn't exactly going to be easy…or quick. She needed…something…to boost Kimmie's morale, give the fiery redheaded spirit a second wind. Then…she thought of it. "Wade, are you tapped into the base system?"

"Are you kidding? I thought your faith in my abilities was better than that," Wade scoffed. "I own the place. What are you thinking?"

"I'm heading to Kimmie now. Can you bring up the base PA system?"

"Done," Wade replied barely six seconds later. "What am I broadcasting?"

"I've got a fun idea. Get into my music and start broadcasting the playlist 'Kimmie's Workout Jams' over the intercoms," Shego couldn't hold back her Cheshire cat grin any longer. "Loop it so that it keeps playing over and over."

True to her request, Imagine Dragons began blaring over the speakers outside in the hall. That song never sounded so good to Shego's ears…and it usually sounded pretty good under normal circumstances. She could almost picture it right now; Kimmie, looking like she'd just crawled to Hell and back on her belly and yet, as only her Kimmie could, still looking breathtakingly beautiful. She'd be standing over this mysterious Agent Epsilon with a sword blade only millimeters from her throat. Oh to Hell with it; this was HER fantasy! Kimmie would be holding a LIGHTSABER! And when Shego burst in, Kimmie would have this kick ass one-liner ready like "You have failed Agent Epsilon. I am a Jedi…like my wife beside me". Okay…not exactly original but Shego WAS in the middle of a warzone.

"What's the plan Shego?" Jim piped up.

"Well YOUR plan is to go with the rest of these guys and rendezvous with the Director and DON'T look at me like that Jim," Shego barked, reading the objection developing on Jim's face before he could say anything. "You're not a fighter Jim. Go with them and so help me, if you try anything like you did at Auckland, I will slug you so hard that they can just drag you back…and you know I'll do it too," She took Jim by the shoulders and looked him square in the face. "I swear to you that I'll get Kim back."

Jim looked as if he wanted to argue further but was scrambling for something valid to present. Anya must've been able to do some fast talking just to keep him in the cell in the first place. In the end, Jim elected to see reason and left with the rest.

"Hold up Anya," Shego put a hand on her Ukrainian friend's shoulder. "You're with me. Grab all the ammunition you can carry and lets go get my wife back."

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

…_click…_

…_BOOM…_

The drone couldn't have been more than fifteen yards away but it had been enough. While the debris impacted safely above the bay windows of Bonnie's office, the pulse of the explosion had been more than enough to shatter the windows and hurl Kim and Bonnie to the floor only moments after Kim had managed to trip the catch on the cuffs. Like an ESPN play-by-play, Kim could see the sidearm fall from Bonnie's grasp and slide across the floor. Now was her chance to end this. Kim shot across the glass strewn floor, avoiding any serious cuts, and quickly felt the cold textured grip as her fingers closed around the handle. She scrambled to her feet and leveled the barrel as Bonnie looked her in the face. And in those eyes, Kim could see everything. Where in her younger days she would've seen dismissiveness, Kim now saw a total lack of compassion that could only have been psychopathy. Where she once would've seen arrogance, Kim now saw a white hot rage that she'd only seen in her most dangerous foes. What she now saw was a monster. And with a simple squeeze of her finger…she could put an end to it.

"I've never committed a cold blooded murder in my life," Kim hissed, keeping a death grip on the pistol. This monster would've thrown Kim's daughter to the hands that would've raped her baby girl, taken away her innocence in the most violent and despicable way. She…she would've skinned her younger brother alive before her eyes, leaving her beloved sister-in-law a widow and their unborn child to grow up without a father. She could end it…right now! She could end it. The bullet would sail through the air and blow apart this wretched creature's skull and…and she'd have sunken to her level! Kim HADN'T committed a cold blooded murder in her life and that simple fact had been what kept her above the creature before her. She would NOT let Bonnie walk out of here alive…but nor would Kim sully herself by pulling the trigger. "And I don't intend to." Keeping the barrel trained on her foe, Kim marched over to the far wall and unsheathed the matching katana to the one lying between Kim and Bonnie. With a firm grip on the handle, Kim chucked the gun out the shattered window into the failing light. "I'm better than you Bonnie Rockwaller. I've never killed anyone in cold blood in my life and I won't now," Kim kicked the blade to her opponent and took a battle stance. "Let's dance, you and I."

And the perfect song had just come over the speaker!

_Frustrated, degraded, down before you're done_

_Rejection, depression, can't get what you want_

_You ask me how I make my way_

_You ask me everywhere and why_

_But the truth sounds like a lie_

Bonnie snatched up the offered blade and eyed Kim with her half mad gaze, stepping into a fighting stance of her own. Like two wolves, the pair began circling, gauging the other's strengths and weaknesses. But no matter what the physical advantages or limitations, the redheaded wolf knew that she fought to defend her pack, to defend her pups, and to defend her mate. And that was all the advantage that Kim needed.

"You're going to die Kim Possible," Bonnie growled, throwing a light testing strike.

_Live to win, till you die, till the light dies in your eyes_

_Live to win, take it all, just keep fighting till you fall_

"We all do some time," Kim replied, easily countering it. "But if it meant making my loved ones safe. I'd gladly give my life for it." Kim slit out of the counter smoothly and delivered a strike of her own, narrowly missing Bonnie's right shoulder. "You see, they're my whole world." The moves were coming faster now. "I wake up every morning in my loving wife's embrace and I wake up my four beautiful children." That had been a surprise for her opponent, one that Kim had managed to capitalize on, scoring a hit on Bonnie's upper thigh, only making Bonnie angrier.

_Day by day, kickin all the way, I'm not caving in_

_Let another round begin, Live to Win_

Both faltered a little when they both heard gunfire coming from outside Bonnie's office and if Kim had been a hair faster, she'd have avoided the sweeping blow to her hip. Her reaction time was enough to make it minor but…ouch. That still hurt. The doors burst open and…SHEGO! Like an answer to her prayers, her wife and Anya burst in with guns leveled and…no. No; they needed to lower their guns. A rabid animal had to be put down but…Bonnie didn't deserve the swift mercy of a bullet.

"You've got exactly one second to…ROCKWALLER?!"

"Shego, listen to me very carefully," Kim breathed, not for the second time refusing to take her eyes off her opponent. "I want you and Anya to lower your guns."

"Kim, are you insane? I…"

"Do it!" Kim barked. "I won't give her the satisfaction." Bonnie had more guts than Kim gave her credit for. Kim snapped her sword into position, parrying the blow and using the momentum to deliver a sound round hose right to Bonnie's jaw. Kim had no way of knowing if her words had been obeyed but Shego's next words were a second wind. "No…matter how this ends…you die here tonight Rockwaller!"

The solid blow had been enough for Kim go on the offensive. Her sword was a flurry of steel, delivering a typhoon of blows. "All you have is your hate Bonnie. Me, I will go back to Middleton," Kim feinted to the left and took out another slice of Bonnie's shoulder. "I'll return to my home and kiss my children goodnight." Bonnie was slowing down now; Kim could feel it. Kim knocked her opponent's blade away and fired a volley of punches to Bonnie's torso. "I will lay my head on my pillow, after telling my wife that she's the greatest thing that ever happened to me, and in that moment," Kim brought her knee up and rammed it into Bonnie's ribs. That had been it! Bonnie's sword arm had sailed out, leaving a mile wide opening. Kim brought her sword up and rammed it forward. With a sickening crunch, the sharpened blade sunk into Bonnie Rockwaller's chest and Kim felt it sink into the wall behind. "I will ask God to forgive you and grant you peace!"

All too soon, Kim felt the exhaustion, the bruises and cuts, and that damned cracked rib that'd she'd been suppressing. The exertion of merely remaining standing proved to be too much for her body and Kim felt herself collapse onto her knees. She'd…she'd expected a hard fall to the glass strewn floor but…she felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around her.

"I've got you Kimmie," Shego breathed, holding her wife close. "I've got you and I'll never let you go."

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

Shego and Anya had made minced meat of anyone who dared come their way. Wade's guidance had allowed them to bypass most of the troops and within minutes, were bursting through the doors into the anteroom of Epsilon's office.

…_BANG…_

…_BANGBANGBANG…_

The room had been a shooting gallery. Shego wouldn't be stopped when she was this close, when her dearest wife was in the next room. Stepping over the bodies, Shego kicked the door open…and had her world rocked when she came face to face with none other than Kim's oldest nemesis, Bonnie Rockwaller, locked in a duel with Kim herself! Shego really shouldn't have been surprised when Kim ordered them to lower their guns. Despite her extreme objections, Shego could see the fire in her wife's eyes, fire that was a comfort when turned to good and an unrelenting fury when turned to danger. Shego watched as her wife loosed the fury upon her opponent, Shego never taking her finger off the trigger of her shotgun. And then she saw the fatal blow, pinning Rockwaller to the wall.

Kim turned to Shego…and like a bolt of lightning, Shego was there to catch her wife's falling body.

"I've got you Kimmie. I've got you…and I'll never let you go."

"Eme…_huff_…I…_huff_…I'm so…glad…to…_huff_… see you."

"It's going to be okay Princess…"

It quickly became apparent that there was a deep peal of laughter echoing through the remains of the office. Shego turned to see Rockwaller, the bitch's hands grasping the hilt of the katana pinning her to the wall. How…how was she…still…alive?

"You…_cough_…can't kill me!"

With a sickening crunch, Bonnie ripped the blade free and stood on her own two feet. She heaved the sword upwards and leapt at Kim and Shego…

…_BANGBANGBANG…_

Shego turned to see Anya, the AK-79 leveled and a thin whisp of smoke rising from the barrel. Anya…Anya had just…

"Kilo Papa…has been recovered," Shego breathed into her headset. "I…say again. Kilo Papa has been recovered."

_Author's Notes:_

_Man, this one really took a while to end. In my mind's eye, the Archangel was the glider used by David Mason in the last level of Call of Duty: Black Ops II. I really hope you like the final interplay between Kim and Bonnie. I went through a lot of drafts before I found one I thought worked well._

"_Radioactive" is the copyrighted property of Interscope Records and the intellectual property of Ben McKee, Dan Platzman, Dan Reynolds, Wayne Sermon, Alexander Grant, and Josh Mosser._

"_Live to Win" is the copyrighted property of New Door records and the intellectual property of Paul Stanley_


	11. Chapter 11

Kim cracked an eyelid, taking in her surroundings. Booyah; this was most definitely not Mongolia. She…was in a hospital room. The window was open and a warm breeze was billowing through, giving the room a summery feel. After fighting in the snowy mountains of Asia…oh that breeze felt GOOD! And someone was lying on top of her. Lying before her was…not Shego? Kim cracked another eyelid and even in her slightly dazed state she could recognize Betty's head lying down on the bed.

"Bet…Betty?" Kim breathed, reaching over to touch her friend on the forehead.

Betty stirred and opened her eyes. It took a moment but Betty's mind put two and two together, shooting up and pulling Kim into a bear hug. "Oh thankyouthankyouthankyou…THANK YOU! Shego!"

Kim's wife quickly burst into the room, holding two cups of coffee and smiled at the scene before her. "Hey sleepy head," Shego sat the cups down and marched over and planted a kiss on her wife's lips. "You gave us all quite a scare."

"But…what happened to…?"

"The killer high school cheerleader?" Shego sat down next to Kim and snuggled up close. "Last I saw her, Anya Reznov had put three in her chest, one in the head, prompting Rockwaller to attempt a swan dive out of her office window. I knew," Shego hugged her tight. "I knew that my warrior princess wouldn't go quietly into that good night. You were like a Jedi out there!"

"What's my prognosis?" Kim felt so comfortable with her wife's arms around her, so totally secure. If only this feeling could last forever.

"Nothing serious," Shego explained. "Jim was right and you did have a cracked rib. The cuts from the fight weren't too bad but the one on your shoulder needed stitches. For the most part, it was just simple exhaustion. Now," Shego got up from the bed, snagged a cup of coffee, and made a move towards the door. "There's a whole host of people that will tar and feather me if I don't tell them you're awake."

The door closed, leaving Kim and Betty in the room alone.

"Kim…I…"

For the first time, Kim noticed the tremendous emotion in Betty's eyes. Was that…Betty's eyes practically shouted shame at the top of their lungs.

"I…I'm so sorry. This…this is all my fault."

That one statement struck Kim like a hammer. These two had been through so much together and had viewed each other with such an equal respect. Betty…Betty truly knew the responsibility of command, of sending her forces into battle and in that battle, they may not return. Betty never took loss lightly. But in looking in her eyes right then, Kim could see such a self-loathing that it nearly made her burst into tears.

"Betty, I…oh God Betty; how can you think that? Nothing could be further from the truth! You…you and Shego got me out. You saved Jim."

"But Gracie…"

"Gracie was following my orders and therefore what befell her falls on me, not you."

"I…Kim…you, Shego, the girls and Nicky…you…you are the only…well, you're the closest thing to family that I have left. If anything were to happen, if I bore the responsibility…"

"Which you don't," Kim reminded, holding her friend's face in her hands. "Betty, I've known Bonnie Rockwaller for more years than I care to remember. And in that time...the only plausible outcome was for her to become the monster that I fought back in the mountain. She's always been a sociopath, a high functioning one but a sociopath nonetheless. And as far as Jindal…well the enemy closest to you is the hardest to see. You…I know you'd do anything for me or my family and rest assured, we will always be there to reply in kind."

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

Anne pulled the sedan to a halt and smiled as Mary Stewart helped Gracie out of the car. The trio had gone straight to the video store after lunch and all of the videos Gracie and her friend had selected met with Anne's complete approval. Their little boyfriends…God it didn't seem right that Gracie already had a boyfriend…were otherwise occupied today and both girls assured Anne that all the inappropriate stuff would've been their fault. Anne hefted up the groceries for the girls' snacks from the trunk.

"So what should we watch first?" Mary inquired, dropping the bag of movies next to her friend whom she'd situated comfortably on the couch. "The Blades of Tir Na Nog? Or the pulse pounding heart-stopping action of none other than Benedict Cumberbatch as The Fearless Ferret?"

Ah, the magic of best friends; Anne could remember so many of those times in her own youth. Anne had just gotten Shego's recipe book and started thumbing through the pages to find the recipe for garlic kale chips when the house phone rang. Abby had taken the twins and Nicky over to a friend's house, wanting to give Gracie and Mary the house to themselves. The girls had just decided on where to start their movie marathon, popping the disk in the player, so Anne snaked the cordless in the kitchen.

"Possible Residence," Anne replied as she emptied the kale into the sink and began rinsing it off.

"Mom…it's Shego."

Oh thank Goodness; she finally had some news! The girls' eyes were riveted to the screen so Anne ducked past them and headed up the stairs to Kim and Shego's room. Shego had told them that they'd launched the rescue two days ago. Locking the door behind her, Anne put the phone back to her ear.

"Thank goodness Shego," Anne breathed in relief. "Were you able to find them?"

"Our little bubble butt is sleeping quietly right next to me," Anne couldn't help but snort at the use of Kim's little nickname. "Jim's okay, Kim has a cracked rib and a few cuts but…they're fine Mom. They're all fine!"

Anne's heart leapt at those words. Her babies…her babies were once again safe and would be coming home! "Oh Shego, that's wonderful! Wait just a minute. I think I know someone who needs to know this more than I do." Anne unlocked the door and rant to the balcony overlooking the living room. "Gracie sweetie," Gracie looked up from the movie. "Your Momma's on the phone."

Much to the chagrin of the physician in Anne, Gracie shot off of the couch like she'd been fired from a cannon. Darting up the stars, Gracie snatched the phone and plastered it to her ear.

"Momma," Gracie gasped. "Momma, did you find her? Is Mom okay?"

"Your mother is sleeping soundly," Shego happily replied. "She's sleeping soundly and we will be home…ALL of us…in three days."

Mom…Mom was…okay! She…she'd been taken and…YESSSSSSS! Gracie felt like she was the happiest person in the world! She…she had to tell Mom that she loved her and…and…tears started flowing like a river as Gracie turned and wrapped her arms around her grandma.

"Shego," Anne sighted into the mouthpiece, taking the phone from Gracie. "We'll be waiting at the gate for you."

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we've begun our descent into Middleton PA."

The last two days had been a whirlwind of activity for the Possibles. As soon as the doctors had cleared her, Kim, Ron, Shego, Betty, and Jim were whisked back to the Ft. Durango for a tele-conference with Will Du. He and his subordinates had been interrogating Corin Jindal with a passion. This whole ordeal had started 8 months ago with a prison break at GJ's maximum security facility. The whole thing had been a ruse to get Bonnie out. Gunfire had been exchanged and Jindal's betrayal had begun by altering the records to list Bonnie Rockwaller as one of the prisoners that were killed in the whole affair. It still wasn't clear whether the mech suits had been the target or just a red herring to get Jim and Kim. More than likely, they'd never know the answer.

"It's been a long time since we've had to take a commercial flight," Kim laughed, downing the last dregs of her champagne glass. "I guess we're going to be doing a lot more if it for a while."

Shego let out a chuckle and finished her own glass. "Man, I've been spoiling you princess. We're sitting in first class with great champagne and all you can think about is our own private craft." Shego leaned over and planted a wet kiss on Kim's cheek. "Can you imagine the looks on the faces of the insurance company when I call them tomorrow with the report?"

There had still been more to do, especially at the newly captured base site. A few of the SWC commandos had been awe struck seeing Kim and Shego together. Betty had informed them that the South Korean PM, apparently a very good friend of Betty's, had invited them to dinner at the Capital Residence in two weeks. In the meantime though, Kim and Shego had been given strict orders by Betty to go home and to leave the rest of the work to her and the scrub teams. For once, Kim didn't need to be told twice.

"Well…it may not be as 'private' as the hovercraft," Kim leaned in and whispered into Shego's ear. "But on the next trip, what say we," Kim ran her hand up Shego's inner thigh. "What say we renew our Mile High Club membership?"

Kim felt a shier go down her wife's leg. Kim could already tell that tomorrow…ooohhhh, Shego wouldn't be able to walk afterwards. And by God, Shego Possible was actually blushing!

"Kim, you're…incorrigible," Shego giggled. "What's with you right now?"

"Well I always thought this was a perfectly normal emotion," Kim took a nibble at her wife's earlobe. "For when a spouse gets out of prison."

The pair was able to wrangle in their affections by the time the plane hit the tarmac. Both met up with Ron and Jim at the security checkpoint and walked together into the terminal. "Oh," Shego had put her hand in her pocket and realized she'd completely forgotten Kimmie's surprise. "I completely spaced. Kimmie, close your eyes and hold out your hands. I've got a surprise."

"The last time I said that to her," Jim laughed. "She wound up with a frog."

Even with her eyes closed, Kim lashed out and flicked her little brother squarely on the forehead. Kim returned her hands to their original position and waited patiently. Shego pulled her hand out and placed something metallic into her right palm.

"Now you can open Princess."

Kim's open and her breath caught in her throat. "Shego…my…how did…?"

"Well," Shego began, grinning ear to ear in light of her wife's joyous expression. "On the way back to Sydney from the hospital, I got a call from the salvage crew onsite of the hovercraft wreckage. They'd recovered the luggage compartment and one of the crew managed to find your hand bag, which of course contained your engagement ring. I…I simply just asked him to ship the ring to the base and…here we all are."

Kim squealed with glee and wrapped herself around her wife and showered her with kisses. "You…_kiss_…are…_smooch_…the best…_smooch_…wife…_kiss_…in the world!"

"Alright, let's go you two," Ron smiled as he guided the entangled pair towards the terminal. "The welcoming committee's getting a little antsy."

"It's a flipping pattern with them," Jim growled as the group moved on.

They were bid goodbye by the TSA agents and marched into the commons, the smell of soft pretzels, cinnamon rolls, and the like wafting towards them. The Middleton Airport was a hive of activity but Kim always already feeling supremely good to be home.

"Over here!"

Kim turned and was greeted by a truly wonderful sight. Standing there was the whole gang. There was Daddy holding Nicky, Mom and Abby were each holding one of the twins. Andrea was seated in a nearby seat, doing her best to get up. And there was Gracie. Mother and daughter locked eyes for only the briefest of moments but it had been more than enough. She was moving slower due to her injuries but Gracie did her best to run towards Kim, prompting Kim to close the distance faster.

As Kim wrapped her arms around her eldest daughter, she couldn't help but notice the tears streaming down Gracie's pale cheeks.

"Shhhhh," Kim soothed, running her fingers down Gracie's hair like when she was little. "Everything's okay now muffin. Everything's going to be okay now. Your uncle and I are just fine."

"I…_sob_…I'm so…sorry Mom," Gracie heaved, holding Kim so tightly Kim was worried for Gracie's shoulder. "I…_sob_…I should never…_sob…_have left…"

"Shhhhh," Kim began rubbing Gracie's back. "You did the right thing sweetie. It's all going to be okay. I love you so much and I will always love you."

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

"Wow Mom; you guys look like you're ready for some fun."

Kim savored the compliment as she did her little catwalk routine down the stairs. Her purple blouse had definitely been the way to go. And the cream colored pants were a nice touch. The centerpiece though had been her favorite emerald necklace that Shego had gotten her all those years ago. Shego meanwhile had selected her cream colored dress with the tan trim The flats Kim had gotten her for Christmas complimented the ensemble nicely.

"You look super pretty Mommy," Zoe complimented as the pair reached the bottom.

"Thank you sweetie," Kim smiled and planted a kiss on her daughter's head as thanks for the compliment.

"AHEM," Shego coughed.

"You look great too Momma," Gracie sighed, putting down her copy of _The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes_ that she'd been reading to the twins.

"Yeah, hubba hubba," Emily replied.

"Ha…thank you Emily," Shego laughed, patting Emily on the head as she passed by. "You two promise to be good for Gracie?"

"Eh, I can handle these knuckleheads," Gracie bragged, grabbing her sisters in a playful headlock. "When are you guys going to be back?"

"We'll try to be back around 11," Kim replied, making one last check of her hair in the mirror next to the door. "I know tomorrow's a Saturday but try not to stay up too late. There's money on the fridge for you to order in, nothing bad please, and if there are any problems, Abby has her cell phone and will come straight home."

"I keep telling you Princess, you just can't improve on perfection," Shego breathed, pulling Kim towards the door. "Now come ON! We're going to be late meeting Betty and her boyfriend."

"I still can't believe it," Kim replied once they were in the car and on the road, headed towards the Lotus Blades.

"Can't believe what Kimmie?"

"What do you think? That we're going on a double date with Betty of all people," Kim laughed. "I mean, I always assumed she'd dated but…somehow it always seemed like…I don't know."

Shego's memory of hers and Betty's conversation on the jet still brought a pang of guilt and shame. Betty assured her it was fine but Shego still felt terrible about it. It was most definitely Betty's choice on whether or not she'd share with Kim; Shego could give her friend at least that much for all that she'd done for Shego's family.

"Hey, she's a successful woman," Shego replied, her free hand snaking out and clasping Kim's. "But all the success in the world doesn't mean a thing if you've got no one to share it with."

Wow…that sure was a gem. Not for the first time, Kim thought about how different her life would've been had it not been for that fateful day. If not for that day, they never would've had Gracie or the twins, they never would've adopted Nicky, Abby and Seamus…Kim and Shego wouldn't have shared so much, both good and bad. "Shego Possible…have I told you lately how much I love you?"

The pair got a corner booth at The Lotus Blades, specifically requesting one where they had a good view of the door, and sat down to order drinks while they waited for Betty. Kim had gotten only a few sips into her glass of Piesporter when she spotted Betty enter with her date. Immediately Kim was struck by her good friend. Rarely had Kim ever seen Betty in anything that wasn't practical when it came to her job…but damn if she couldn't pull off that little black dress like a champ. She was sporting a stylish pixie cut and she'd even elected to go "commando" as her friends jokingly called it, electing to go without her eye patch and using her glass eye that she used for hearings and diplomatic functions. Betty cleaned up pretty darn good. She was absolute picture of elegance and class. And her date wasn't too bad either. Tom Van Dyke looked to be around Betty's own age with streaks of grey in his brown hair and…wow! If they could every replicate Project Cradle, allowing to men to conceive and turned it over to Ralph Lauren and Josh Brolin…that baby would have to grow into that! Not at all hard to see what Betty saw in him.

Kim and Shego waved to the pair and stood as Betty and Tom draped their coats over their chairs.

"I'm so glad we could do this," Betty cheerily hugged Kim and Shego and gestured towards her guest of honor. "Shego, Kim, this is Tom. Tom, these are my friends Kim and Shego Possible."

Tom looked as if he'd been expecting this, mentally preparing himself so to speak, but actually experiencing it was another matter entirely. He tentatively shook each of their hands and ushered Betty into her seat.

_The man's a gentleman. That's one point in his favor,_ Kim thought with a smile. "Well Betty sure wasn't exaggerating. You are cute."

"Uh…thank…thank you," Tom stuttered. "So…uh…I guess…let the interrogation commence."

"Oh it's nothing like that," Kim assured, taking another sip of her wine.

"Here," Shego smirked as she slid one of the empty water glasses towards Tom. "It's for your urine sample."

"SHEGO," Kim barked, elbowing her in the ribs while at the same time loving the scarlet that painted Tom's cheeks. "I'm so sorry Tom. You'll have to forgive my wife's sense of humor. It's…a bit of an acquired taste."

"So is fine wine," Shego smiled, raising her wine glass. "Don't worry Tom. Betty likes you…and that means I do too."

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

Sir Montgomery Fiske, better known to his adversaries as Monkey Fist, marched into the cave, flanked by two of his simian warriors. He was unaccustomed to a meeting request in such a manner. He'd been safely ensconced…or so he thought, in the Bornean Rainforest overseeing his force's excavation of a new dig site when out of nowhere, an unmarked aerial vehicle fired a message canister directly at his feet. Had he not immediately ordered his forces to battle stations, honor and nobility would've compelled him to commend the pilot on such a fine shot. Who could've sent the pilot? Better than that, who could've RECRUITED such a pilot? Should he find the opportunity, Monty would be quite interested in offering the mystery pilot. Surely he could pay better than Drakken or the Senior.

Known only to a few, The Council Chamber, located deep within the Cascade Mountains, had existed for close to thirty years. As Monty entered the main chamber, he saw that all the members of the Council were already present. His old friend Amy Hall, better known as DNAmy, was nursing a cup of cocoa while chatting with Drakken. With the way things had been transpiring of late, Monty wouldn't be surprised to see something blossom between the two. Good for them. Duff Killigan and the elder Senior were sharing a brandy from the bar. He couldn't help but notice Heinrich Dementor's absence. Eh, they were far better off without him. Each of those gathered here was a villain and proudly so. But the express purpose of the Council was to draw and hold the line between evil and…just plain monstrous. If only Monty and the Seniors been able to get there in time, they might have been able to keep Heinrich from launching that damnable attack on Montreal. The fool had made no secret of his plan to…Kim and Shego were the bane of their existence but to deliberately attempt to kill Shego in cold blood was…just without honor…and Heinrich got exactly what he deserved. Had Monty himself been there, he'd have handed Kim Possible the gun himself.

"Who requested the meeting?" Monty inquired, heading towards the bar and pouring himself a cognac.

"Why Monty sweetie, we thought you were the one who called it," Amy replied, tearing her eyes away from Drakken.

"It most certainly was NOT me," Monty shot back. This was bizarre…and a little unsettling. Professional courtesy prevented any of the council from acting against each other but…

"I called the meeting."

Monty knew that voice only too well. Deftly setting his cognac on the antique table, Monty swung around, stepping into a fighting stance, facing the black clad intruder. The intruder lifted their hood and flowing ebony locks framed the face of Shego Possible. It had been several years since their last encounter and even though he was primed for a fight, he had to congratulate his opponent on her lithe figure over the years. Shego had always been a woman of extraordinary discipline. Monty heard a terrified squawk behind him. And that would be Drakken, the spineless fool.

"WAAAAAAHHHHHH," He wailed, leaping behind the couch. "I DIDN'T DO IT SHEGO! I DIDN'T DO IT! PLEASE!"

"Oh Draky-Poo," Amy cooed, looking behind the couch. "Stop being such a silly-billy."

"Ach, but he's right," Duff mumbled. "Shego, we've nae touched yer bairns. What's the idee?"

"I'm here under truce," Shego raised her hands and slowly began moving towards the table. "I give you my word that none of you have anything to fear from me today. I…Kim and I…need to show you something."

"Don't take your eyes off her," Monty barked in simian to his minions. It would've been Shego who brought them here. She was the only one outside of the council who even knew about their meeting…wait a moment…Shego knew about this place! She'd always known about this place since signing on with Drakken…and the Council had never thought to relocate after Shego's falling in with Possible. Had Shego been so inclined…Good God; she and Global Justice could've snatched them all without even a struggle. But…she didn't…at least not yet.

"What is it Shego?"

The former villain slowly drew a pin drive and inserted it into the main projector. The image was of a WEE facility if Monty hadn't missed his guess. Indeed it was, when Gemini appeared on screen with someone he didn't recognize.

"I want Possible's HEAD," The new person, a woman, barked. "If this will give me that chance to end that bitch, you've got your Agent Epsilon."

"Good," Sheldon replied. "Good; together you and I will do great evil together. And if in the process, you were to bring down that redheaded…whatever you need to do, I give you my full support!"

The projection disappeared. "Now every one of you," Shego continued. "Every one of you present would never issue an order like that. Raul," Shego gestured at Senior. "You pay for the medical care of any innocent bystander harmed in one of your operations. And Amy, you hardwire the protection of children into all of your creatures. And you Monty, you will NOT attack an opponent with their back turned. And Drew…" Shego glanced towards the whimpering blue lump hiding under the couch. "Oh for Heaven's sake, would you get out of there? I'm NOT going to hurt you!"

Shego proceeded to explain the events that had transpired in the last two weeks. Amy had gushed at the revelation that Kim and Shego were renewing their wedding vows, ever the romantic. But the mood became much more somber at upon hearing Shego's daughter had been shot down and Kim Possible and her brother had been captured.

"Bonnie Rockwaller had been arrogant enough to record her conversation with Kim," Shego brought up another clip, this of Agent Epsilon's office with Kim Possible held to a chair. "I was able to dig this out of their files when GJ took the base."

This Bonnie Rockwaller began her speech and…Monty had to fight off the urge to lash out at the hologram. This…this…CREATURE…spoke of skinning Possible's brother alive. She…she actually SPOKE of turning Shego's daughter over to be…to be…DAMN her! DAMN that monster! How…how could Sheldon have…have allowed her such…why didn't he stop her? As Kim Possible managed to free herself, Monty actually found himself silently cheering his nemesis as she quickly managed to get the better of Rockwaller and smiled as Possible thrust the sword through her opponent's chest. When the clip concluded, the room was as silent as the grave.

"Madre de Dios," Senior breathed.

"Now…I know I have no right to ask this of you," Shego sighed, pocketing the portable hard drive and looked at all assembled. "We stand on opposite sides now and we always will. I've found a happiness that I thought I'd never see and…on any other day, I'd arrest every one of you without a second thought. But…"

"Shego," Shego needed no more words. They had to do something about this. Of that, Monty was absolutely sure. Whether Sheldon had deliberately facilitated these events or it was simple incompetence, failing to control his subordinates, Sheldon would face their judgment and their wrath. "You don't have to say anymore. We may not be able to stop him but we can make it quite difficult for him. Please go with our thanks. I will see to it that you return to Middleton safely and unharmed. And I wish your daughter a speedy recovery."

"Aye Shego," Duff agreed. "Yer lass be a wiry one. She be on her feet in nae time."

"I'll send her a special pandaroo as a get well present," Amy promised.

_Author's Notes:_

_Like my pen name suggests, I'm an optimist. I'm a firm believer in honor amongst enemies. Richard the Lionheart had nothing but respect for Saladin. I really like the idea of a ruling council that keeps villains from going too far, sort of maintains their humanity._


	12. Hard Labor and Beautiful Ceremonies

"This is IMPOSSIBLE!" Abby yelled in frustration, hurling the classifieds into the air. "Our baby is going to be here in a week and we STILL can't find our own place!"

"Something will turn up lass."

Kim truly did have to marvel at her life. Four months ago, she'd been held prisoner along with her brother by an international evil organization. She could still visualize the eerie blue light of her cell and the feel of the cool grip of…of the sword as she fought Bonnie Rockwaller; and now? Now she was enjoying a lazy spring Saturday morning at home. Gracie was in the backyard with the twins, helping them practice for a Pixie scout badge at their meeting next week. Shego was upstairs with her coffee, getting an early start on finishing the quilt she was making for the new Baby O'Sullivan. And Kim herself? Well despite her best efforts, Nicky inevitably wound up wearing most of the bananas that made up his breakfast instead of eating them. Still…she still found it to be vastly better than before Nicky could have solid food. Now at least only one of them wound up wearing the food…except for those damned chicken nuggets that Shego had made…and that dreaded honey mustard. Nggghhh; even the thought of that dinner sent a shiver down Kim's spine.

"You, Nicholas Andrew Possibe, are a little mess bug," Kim accused as Nicky grabbed the spoon's contents and missed his mouth once again. "Well I guess my little messy monkey has enough in his belly." She hefted him out of the high chair and wiped his face with his bib, planting a kiss on his now clean face. "There's Mommy's handsome baby boy. Let's you and me go find Momma. I think I know a way we can help Abby and Seamus…if Mommy can talk Momma into it."

Kim casually slipped by the now moaning Abby, her head on Seamus's lap while he massaged her temples, and headed up the stairs towards her bedroom. Kim had been thrilled her friends had made the first step and tied the knot. And it had been a remarkably spankin bachelorette party given the fact that there wasn't a drop of alcohol served. With the bride having an extra passenger, everyone was fine with it. But if she could sway Shego, the couple's housing problems would officially be OVER. When Shego had first built the Palace, she'd purchased a good fifteen acres of land along with it. Most of it was forests but there were a few acres that were open field. Kim and Shego had talked off and on about developing a small part of it later down the line. But with Abby and Seamus's housing problems, unbeknownst to the rest of the family, Kim had been assembling estimates and quotes on building a house on part of it.

"OUCH," Kim heard Shego cry out as she opened the door. "Son of a…"

"Little pitcher coming in," Kim interrupted.

"…Biscuit," Shego finished, sucking on her freshly pricked finger.

"Who did I marry, a longshoreman?" Kim chided, laying Nicky down on the bed with a few of his toys. "How's it coming?"

"Should be finished by tomorrow," Shego replied, satisfied that the finger wasn't bleeding. "I should be finished in the nick of time. What's up Princess?"

"Well," Kim pulled the office chair at her desk over and sat next to Shego. "I've got something I want to run by you."

"Okay; fire away."

"Now I'm not sure how this will sound but here it goes. You know how you and I have been kicking around the idea of maybe turning that three acres of open field into something?" Shego nodded for Kim to continue. "Well…I think Abs and Seamus might be trying to reinvent the wheel here. What if we were to slice off an acre of that property, build a house, and rent it out to them?"

Shego's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Kim…uh…that's…kind of out of nowhere. I mean…let's say that I agree with you, which I'm not saying one way or the other at this point, Abby's never going to accept something like that."

And I've thought about that," Kim assured her wife. "I'm not suggesting that we give them the house. I said we rent it out to them. I mean, I've looked through the same classifieds and even with what we pay Abby, there really isn't much for a new family within their price range, not without going at least another county away."

"Can we afford something like this?"

"I've done the math," Kim promised. Shego was beginning to look like she was seeing the merit; Kim could see it in her eyes. "All told, we're looking at a little over $200000 and that's a drop in the bucket for us. And in terms of length of time, if we use the same crew that you used on the Palace, we're looking at five, maybe six months. We can put them up until it's finished. I think I can convince them to stay for that long. But…what do you think?"

"Kimmie…I…" Shego heaved a sigh and hung her head in defeat. "Oh brother; they should put your mouth in the circus. I guess I'm in."

That was what Kim wanted to here! This was a fantastic idea on the face of it and Shego had never turned Kim down when she was logically right! Kim and Shego Possible were Abby's friends, charges, employers…what was wrong with adding landlords to the list? Now she just had to march down there and give the pair the good news.

"Nicky," Shego spun around and looked at the little tike playing with his toys. "Your Mommy's mouth goes faster than a speeding bullet Nicky!" Nicky must've found that funny, letting loose with a chorus of giggles. "Awww, who's Momma's little snuggle bug?" Shego hefted Nicky into her arms and spun around, showing Nicky her work. "What do you think buddy? You think you're cousin's going to like it?"

"Uh…Shego?"

"Yeah Kimmie?"

"I…uh…was about to talk to them and tell them the news and…if you have a minute…uh…Abby's water just broke."

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

How…how had Kim done this…three…flipping…TIMES? ARRRRGGGGHHHH! Abby felt like she was pushing a Christmas ham out between her legs. It was Seamus! That Irish sneak had been the one who'd done this to her! If she got out of this alive, she was going to…

"You're almost there Abby; just one more big push."

One MORE? She'd felt like she'd been pushing for the better part of a month and it couldn't have been more than a few hours. But she…she had to push. She was so close…so close to holding her baby in her arms. She would NOT be denied. But dammit; this kid had BETTER appreciate this!

"AAARRRRRRGGGGHHHHH!"

"There we GO," Dr. Mortenson cheered as a loud wailing began echoing through the room.

"You did it Abs," Kim dabbed at Abby's forehead with a cold cloth. "You did it!"

"I love ye so much Abigail," Seamus held her by the hand, hugging her tightly.

She…she had done it? She…was a mother! Abby felt like she'd been dragged through a meat grinder. She felt sore in places that she didn't even know she COULD feel sore in. Literally every inch of her hurt…but…but that crying was like music to her thoroughly exhausted ears.

"What…what is it?" Abby gasped.

"Mr. and Mrs. O'Sullivan, it's a boy," Dr. Mortenson smiled as she returned a blanket wrapped bundle to Abby's arms. "Seven pounds even."

It…it was a boy! They had a beautiful baby boy! Abby pulled aside the blanket and gazed longingly into the tiny little face. Those eyes…those beautiful blue eyes were hers! And those tiny wisps of black hair…those belonged to her beloved Irish Prince. "Seamus…he's…he's perfect! I…I love you so much! He's…perfect!"

"Do we have a name yet?" Dr. Mortenson inquired, lowering her mask.

A name? Abby had completely lost track of the fact that they'd be naming their precious bundle of joy. She looked at Seamus and…in that glance she knew. They'd batted around a few names, asked Kim and Shego for their input. But in that instance, in that single glance with the man she loved, Abby knew what the name should be.

"Brady," She breathed, snuggling close to her son. "His name is Brady Michael O'Sullivan."

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

Shego and the kids were quickly ushered to the birthing ward by the orderly and were greeted by a smiling Kim. It had been quite an eventful 24 hours. Upon hearing that Abby's water had broken, Shego did a backflip with a half gainer off the balcony and landed at the foot of the couch. Kim and Seamus were in the process of helping Abby to the car and the kids were running all over the place, trying to figure out what to do. Okay…her first task was to get a hold of the younger set.

Things had calmed down once they'd gotten Abby safely out the door but the topic of conversation was set. Shego telephoned Abby's parents in Oregon and ran the gauntlet contacting each of her brothers. The moment school had let out Monday afternoon, everyone piled into the car and drove directly to Middleton Hospital.

"It's a boy," Kim cheered as she wrapped her arms around her wife.

"Oooooh, can we see him Mommy?" Emily gasped.

"Gracie, would you mind taking the girls to see Little Brady? Abby's in room 117 and you can head there afterward."

The girls scampered off, leaving Kim and Shego holding Nicky. "How is she doing?"

"Wiped out," Kim sighed as she took Nicky into her own arms and settled him in the crook of her arms. "The trooper was in labor for close to 19 hours." Kim knocked on the door to the room and was ushered in by Seamus, looking like he'd died and gone to Heaven. The smile plastered across his face was priceless. Had Shego really looked like that when the girls were born…or when they adopted Nicky? She pulled the big lug into an embrace and voiced her congratulations.

"I'm so happy for you Seamus," Shego sighed as she let him go.

Seamus ducked over to the bed and woke up the mother. Apparently she'd insisted on being woken up the moment everyone else had gotten here. "Hey…_yawn_…Shego."

"Hey Abs," Shego pulled her friend into a tight embrace, pouring every scrap of compassion she possessed. "I'm so happy for you both. That boy is going to have two of the best parents I know."

"Thanks Shego," Abby yawned again, trying to prop herself up. "I feel like I've been hit by a truck but…you know." Abby flashed a contented smile.

"Well now that Shego's here and the happy parents are both awake, we've got something we want to talk to you about," Kim slid one of the chairs over and plopped down. "Shego and I have talked it over and we think we might have come up with a solution."

"What's yer plan?" Seamus asked, taking a seat on the bed and snaking his hand into Abby's.

"Well…we've been talking for a while about developing some of our property and we want to build a house on the far acre plot…and rent it out. We want to give you first crack at it."

There was a deafening silence and a pair of dumbfounded looks in the room. Mother and Father looked as if they'd just been clubbed over the head. Both began stuttering almost in unison, word for word, but Abby was the first to be able to assemble the stutters into coherent words.

"Kim…I…that…building a house is…we could never accept something like that."

"I dinna know if…"

"'Dinna know' nothing Seamus," Kim pleaded. "Come on guys. This is most definitely not charity. You both know us better than that. Besides, I've seen the same house listings you have. We'll pay to have the house built and you'll pay rent at a fair price."

"Kim…I…"

"Look at her you two," Shego held back a laugh. "I sure can't do anything. The house is going to be built one way or another."

Abby looked at Kim, taking in her friend's face. Shego could see the wheels turning and finally click into place. It was indeed inevitable to fight it. Kim was in that zone where you could fight against her…but that would end like fighting against a force of nature.

"I…Kim…I…I just don't know what to say," Abby joyously gasped. "This is so much…"

"Abby, this is nothing," Kim assured, taking Abby's free hand. "You've saved my life, Shego's life, and our children's. You've taken more bullets for us than either of us can count. You're as much a part of this family as anyone…and you always will be."

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

It wasn't the hovercraft but the modified Chinook helicopter Aunt Betty had lent them while Momma hunted up the parts for a new hovercraft was still pretty good. It was from a line that GJ frequently used for transporting big wigs or politicians in relative comfort through areas where they might need a little extra muscle. Unlike the hovercraft though, the Chinook had been further modified to include a respectable amount of offensive and defensive tech, sporting four Browning .50-cal machine guns, two on each side of the main body. It took a good deal of PDP but Mom and Momma had finally relented, offering the compromise of letting Gracie man the co-pilot's seat. She was after all only a few weeks away from her helicopter qualifications.

They touched down on the crop dusting airfield just outside of Eden, New South Wales. Gracie had been looking forward to this for months. Her wounds had long since healed and Gracie felt so good it was like the crash had never happened. The meta-human powers that she'd inherited from Momma really were awesome sauce. But during her recovery, and in the weeks that followed, Gracie hadn't been able to shake those memories of the Iwi Moana. The doctor in New Zealand as well as Doc Thomas and Grandma back home had cautioned that there might be a small degree of memory loss or some unusual delusions Gracie might "remember", as was usual for a concussion of the magnitude that Gracie had suffered, but all involved assured her and the family that the effects were only temporary and wouldn't last. But four months after the fact, and Gracie still couldn't get the Iwi Moana out of her head...and…did she even want to? It…it sure didn't feel like a delusion to her and she was GOING to find out more!

As with any myth or conspiracy, the internet proved a wealth of information, both quite interesting and just plain ridiculous. As it turned out, the Iwi Moana was actually a popular part of Maori mythology, sort of their own personal mermaid myth. According to legend, the Iwi Moana were the guardians of the sea and sightings were frequently reported by fisherman lost during a storm. It…it had to be real! This was the first time she'd come across the name and…and…what did this mean?

And so she stewed about it, constantly trying to puzzle out where to go next; Abby going into labor in May had been a welcome distraction. Her little cousin was absolutely adorable and she'd almost forgotten about her current quest…ALMOST. After school let out, talk began shifting back towards the ceremony and the Gang from Galway's coming performance, at least among her friends. But oddly enough, it had been Mom who had broached the subject of meeting with the Andersons, the ones who'd saved Gracie in the first place. Why hadn't Gracie thought about that before? Momma had said that the one who'd actually pulled her out of the water was a Maori. If nothing else, Gracie needed to thank that woman. They had a week before the wedding and that left more than enough time for a day trip to Australia.

And so the Possible family found themselves descending the ramp and coming face to face with the smiling faces of the Andersons.

"Thank you so much for having us," Mom greeted, accepting the offered hug from Izzy Anderson.

"Oh its most certainly our pleasure," Izzy assured, releasing Mom and gesturing towards the van waiting to take them to the Anderson's residence. Everyone piled in and once Nicky's car seat was secure, they pulled onto the main road. Looking at her surroundings, Gracie couldn't help but notice the differences in the two countries in which she'd resided the past few months. Where New Zealand was lush and very green, Eastern Australia reminded her a good deal of Great Uncle Slim's ranch back in Montana. The grassy plains and the rolling hills seemed really calming, especially with the ocean just on the horizon. As they approached the residence, the Possibles oohed and ahhed at the location, right on the pacific. The van pulled to a stop and within minutes of vacating the van, everyone was feeling right at home. Momma and Izzy quickly bonded over the grill and Mom kept an eye on the twins and the Anderson boys while playing with Nicky, leaving Gracie alone in the kitchen with her rescuer.

"Now's your chance," George squeaked from her shoulder.

Man, she'd rehearsed what she was going to say at least a dozen times on the way over here but…argh; the words were like peanut butter, sticking to the roof of her mouth. This was nuts! Gracie believed with every fiber of her being that what she saw was real and not some nutball dream but…was she really about to ask what amounted to a complete stranger if she'd seen any mermaids when she'd pulled Gracie out of the water?

"Uh…Mrs. Anderson?"

"Whatcha need Gracie?" She turned from the salad she was preparing.

"Well…I…I never got a chance to say thank you for…you know."

"Well from what yer mums said, you'd have done exactly the same," She smiled warmly. "Did yer mum tell you we'd actually shared a few pints when you first got to the island?"

"She'd mentioned that, yeah," Gracie gave her a light chuckle. Okay…she could do this. "Talk about coincidence. But…oh I wish I could say this better. You're going to think I'm a total nut."

Mrs. Anderson's steady chopping ceased and Gracie looked up. Mrs. Anderson was looking directly at Gracie as if waiting for…something. She…she looked like she seriously wanted Gracie to finish her sentence. Mrs. Anderson put her knife down in the sink and slid over to the table and took the seat next to her. Taking Gracie's hands, she smiled reassuringly.

"Do ye remember something?" She asked. "Do you remember seeing something?"

She…she KNEW? Gracie could see it in her eyes that…oh God! Gracie was RIGHT! It wasn't just some brain scramble from the mother of all crashes; it was REAL! She'd really seen them!

"It weren't just me that pulled ye out of the water. Ye remember her, don't ye?"

"She…she was beautiful," Gracie breathed, staring slack jawed at her new confidant. "It…it was like…like music."

"And it was real," Mrs. Anderson confirmed. "I've been searching for the Iwi Moana my whole life. A lot of me family has. And that day…one of them brought ye to me. They call us Hoa, friend. And if we are ever in trouble, they'll find us…or we'll find each other…and always be there to help."

KPKPKPKPKPKPKP

As Kim looked out across the main hall of St. Peter's Church, across all the faces of those that mattered the most to her, her heart was truly aflutter. It was finally happening! After fifteen years and all the months of planning, she was finally here, standing in a beautiful church, wearing the Chanel wedding dress she'd dreamed of. And standing at the head of the aisle with the priest and the rest of the wedding party was Shego. She…she was utterly stunning in that lavender gown! Every…everything was perfect. Everything was exactly like she'd imagined it would be.

"Are you ready Kimmie?"

The church organ flared to life and Kim took her Dad's arm. She heaved a deep and contented sigh. "I'm ready Daddy."

All heads turned as the pair began marching down the aisle, focusing squarely on Kim. But Kim's eyes were riveted forward, focused entirely on the green goddess before her. Okay…she could do this. It was all just mind over matter. She was NOT going to cry. She'd withstood torture so this…this should be a breeze. They made the last few steps and came to a halt before the altar. Daddy guided her…dammit; her hand was trembling…hand to Shego's. Daddy quickly returned to his seat next to the rest of the family and Shego led her bride back to the Father. They turned to face each other and Shego lifted Kim's veil. She…she could…no; no, she couldn't do this. Kim could feel herself losing her grip. Shego was just…just the most wonderful and courageous and brave and funny…she was the greatest person Kim knew. And she'd chosen Kim. That rainy night, she could've let Kim be but…she chose her and had hardly left her side since then. And here she was, eager to make a promise to Kim that she would continue to stay by her side? What…what had Kim ever done to deserve a woman such as this?

"Dearly beloved," Father Mitch began. "We are gathered here today to celebrate the love between these two people. I've known these women for many years. I've watched their children grow up but more than that, I've watched these two grow as adults. With every victory, with every challenge they face, the special bond that they share and their compassion for each other grows. In my experience, I can't think of many more examples of love in its truest form. So today, let us join together in celebration of that love."

Father Mitch began the sermon. It had involved a good deal of discussion but after a great deal of convincing from Shego, the pair had agreed upon Genesis 29, the story of Jacob's love for Rachel, as their sermon. Hearing the words echoing through the church hall, Kim was swept away. "For Jacob served seven years to get Rachel but they seemed only a few days to him because of his love for her"; that…that was…Kim and Shego in a nutshell.

"And now," Father Mitch gestured to Kim and Shego. "Kimberly and Shego have written their own vows."

Shego took a deep breath and held Kim's hand. "Kimberly, I…I never had an easy life growing up. Things were bad, very bad. But…then one day I met this…this spunky little redheaded cheerleader who wanted to try her hand at saving the world. But unbeknownst to all of us at the time…she saved me. She became a salve for my troubled soul. And on a stormy day, when you took me into your room, gave me the chance to not just be a part of our daughter's life…but to be a part of a family again…and who'd have thought that out of something so terrible…I'd find my soul mate? Kim, I promise that I will always be there for you, for the good times and the bad, for the tears and the laughter. With my last my last breath and everything I possess, I am your wife, body and soul, forever and eternity."

The tears were flowing freely now and Kim…Kim wasn't at all ashamed; to utter Hell with stoicism. "Shego, I…_sniff_…growing up, I always thought I knew who I was, or at least who I thought I was supposed to be. But then my world was…_sniff_…turned upside down. I was thrown into circumstances I could barely comprehend. I…I didn't know what to…_sniff_…do. But in that dark and stormy night fifteen years ago, there you were, the last person I'd…_sniff_…ever expected but…the very one that I needed. In the months that followed and still today, you are what gives me strength. You are the bravest, sweetest, most courageous person I've ever known and…_sniff_…you're my hero. I love you with all my heart, forever and a day. I vow to spend every moment of my life trying to be worthy of a wife like you."

"Kim, Shego, all the words in the world don't make a marriage meaningful," Father Mitch continued, nodding to both women. "Only you can do that. But if you remain true to each other, you can't go wrong." He took a pause and surveyed the crowd. "Then if none assembled object, by the power vested in me by God and the State of Pennsylvania, I declare you wedded in Holy Matrimony. You may now kiss the bride."

The entire room was silent, at least to Kim. She was engulfed in Shego's tender embrace and her luscious lips collided with hers. Ohhhhh…Shego tasted…wonderful. It was…intoxicating! Then, like a tremendous thunder clap, the sound of applause began ringing in her ears.

"Well Kimmie," Shego gasped over the cheering. "I guess it's too late to elope now."

"Oh shut up and kiss me again," Kim laughed, pulling her wife into a tight embrace and eliciting a fresh round of cheers.

"It's a little loud in here. Besides…if you can make it to the limo, I've got SO much more planed for you."

The guests lined the path out to the limo. Joining hands, Kim and Shego took off through the ensuing shower of bird seed. The pair paused to wave goodbye to the crowd and clambered into the back of the limo.

"Ha…where in that pile of frosting is the woman that I just married?" Shego giggled as she smoothed down the ruffles and fluff. "Wow, did I just marry Kim Possible or a giant cupcake?"

Kim popped her head out and smooched Shego on the nose. "Less talk; more kisses."

"Well, we don't have to be to the reception hall for at least an hour," Shego lowered the window. "Driver, how about once around the bay before we head to the hall?"

"Right away Mrs. Possible."

The window rose and Shego turned back to Kim. "Now my little Princess, I believe you wanted more kissy face?"

Without so much as another word, the backseat became a whirlwind of white and lavender fabric, tan and pale flesh, and cries of passion. Thank God Kim had sprung for the sound proof limo. They traveled through every beauty part of Wellington but they could've been in a back alley for all that the pair was aware.

"Water," Kim gasped as she finally managed to disengage herself and grab a bottled water from the mini-fridge. "Must…have…fluids."

"It's…_gasp_…just as well," Shego replied, popping out from under Kim's gown and grabbing a bottled water for herself. "My hand's starting to cramp up. And Gracie's probably going bonkers right now anyway."

After a quick few minutes to make themselves look presentable and better able to move, the limo driver opened the door and the pair practically skipped hand in hand into the banquet hall. They were greeted by Ron, looking dashing as ever in his Ralph Lauren tux, and looking like he was ready to blow a gasket.

"Well it's about TIME," He gasped, storming over to the door. "Gracie was about ready to hotwire a car and hunt you two up herself."

"When we're right on time?" Kim laughed.

"Something's definitely wrong with your daughter," Shego sighed, snaking her arm around Kim's

"MY daughter? Let me tell you something Shego Possible…"

"Oh please tell her later," Ron replied, fighting back the laugh that Kim knew he was and drew a radio. "Package has arrived. I repeat; package has arrived."

Kim could hear Gracie's voice come over the speaker system. "Everyone, could I have your attention please? I 've just received confirmation. It gives me great pleasure to introduce the happy couple, my Moms, Kim and Shego Possible."

A roar of cheers sounded as Kim and Shego walked arm and arm to the center table, being greeted by the wedding party and receiving a cascade of hugs along with it.

"You know," Kim whispered as the pair took their places. "I just realized that I'm VERY hungry."

KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP

Oh God; here it was and Shego's nerves were going crazy. Who'd have thought that THIS would be her nerve wracking moment given all that's happened in the last few months? They'd just finished the cake and…okay, she could do this! Gracie had been more than a little curious last month when Shego had told her she wanted to borrow Billy and Jimmy before they got down to the music; but when Shego had told her that it was for a very special surprise for Mom, Gracie and graciously zipped her lip and kept the secret under pain of death.

After politely excusing herself, Shego met the two boys on the stage and grabbed a microphone. "Hi everyone; Kim and I would just like to thank you all for being here with us. It means so much that you could all be here to share this day with our family. But before we get into full swing with the festivities, could I get a spotlight on my beautiful redheaded bride?" A beam shot out and illuminated Kim. "Kimmie, I've been planning a little wedding surprise behind your back and Billy and Jimmy have graciously agreed to help me. You ready boys?" They both nodded, Jimmy at the drum set and Billy holding the guitar. "Kimmie, this is a song that always makes me think of you."

Jimmy began hammering on the drums, setting the beat. Billy came in with the guitar and Shego took a breath.

_Uptown Girl_

_She's been living in her uptown world_

_I bet she never had a back street guy_

_I bet her mother never told her why_

There were a few burst of laughter, mostly in response to Kim's face. Even on stage, Shego could see the burning scarlet cheeks Kim was now sporting. But nerves or no, this had been perfect. Shego had caught Kimmie completely by surprise and…oh, that look was absolutely priceless.

_She'll see I'm not so tough_

_Just because I'm in love_

_With an Uptown Girl_

The entire room began clapping along to the music.

_Uptown Girl_

_She's my Uptown Girl_

_You know I'm in love with_

_An Uptown Girl_

_My Uptown Girl_

"Kim Possible, you are without a doubt the most beautiful wife anyone could wish for, Kim-ness and all, and I love you more than anything!"

_Author's Notes:_

_And thus we have the end. Writing this story has been a long journey and I've enjoyed every minute of it and I hope you have too. I'm putting Triple Threat on the back burner for a little while I work on A Grimm Possibility but I've already got a concept for my next Triple Threat story but would like some input. Motor Ed or the Seniors as the antagonist? I think the story would work for both and it will be a crossover with another of my favorite series but who would you guys like to see? Message me with your answers._


End file.
